What Happened In The Little Boys Room?
by CSI001
Summary: The youngest CSI gets hurt in more ways than one. Will he ever be the same again?
1. The Little Boys Room

Hey, since my last two stories didn't quite take off, I thought i'd write another and see how this one goes! It has a subject that some people may find upsetting, hence why the rating is so high, but it is not intended in a nasty way or meant to upset anyone. So, on with the story! Oh, no, wait... Please review at the end, you don't even need to have a log in because I accept anonymous reviews! Happy, happy, happy! Anyway, it's storytime, enjoy!

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><p><strong>The Little Boys Room<strong>

Nick and Catherine were walking through the lab after just getting back from their scene. "Okay, so there's no evidence at all against our guy?" Nick asked Catherine with disbelief in his voice. "No, nothing. We've got squat" Catherine replied in an exasperated sigh. Nick also sighed defeated, "But I know it's him, I can feel it you know" Catherine nodded, feeling the same way, "I know. But, we still have to prove it." Nick just shook his head. "Right, i'm just 'gonna nip to the little boys room so i'll met you in a couple of minutes" Nick said before turning in the opposite direction to Catherine. When Nick opened the door to the men's restroom he was shocked at what he saw...

Snapping out of his trance, Nick rushed forward, "GREG?" he shouted in a questioning tone. Wrong thing to do. Greg who was lying on the floor, apparently having been beaten up and tied up with handcuffs around his wrists and zip ties around his ankles, shuffled back and screamed unknown words underneath the duct tape that was wrapped around his mouth and head. Nick was shocked at the reaction he got and stepped back with his hands held high showing Greg that he wasn't going to hurt him. "Greg, it's me. It's Nick. I'm not going to hurt you" Nick said softly trying to get Greg to focus on him, "Greggo?" he asked again, hoping the familiar nickname would calm him down. Greg looked up for the first time, showing Nick the tears, pain and embarassment in his eyes. Nicks heart went out to him. Taking slow steps towards him, Nick could see Greg flinch wih each step he took. As he approached Greg, he could see more of him and things that he hadn't seen before. Around Greg's neck was a metal collar that was tight enough to discolour the surrounding skin. His shirt had been torn down the front leaving it hanging open with only a few buttons keeping it together. But, the worst thing was that Greg's pants and belt were undone, and both his pants and boxers had been pulled down around his back end. Greg was watching his every move silently with watery eyes. "Okay, Greggo, i'm going to call Catherine in here okay?" Greg was shaking violently so it was hard for Nick to tell if he was saying yes or no. Whether he said no or not, it didn't matter because Nick was ringing her anyway. After he had rang her Nick tried to take the restraints from around Greg's ankles but hardly even touched him before he thrashed both legs out and kicked Nick in the chest, sending him back. "Okay, okay" Nick tried to sooth him and chose to wait for Catherine to get there.

As she walked into the mens restrooms, Catherine recieved some rather strange looks. But she didn't care, from what Nick had told her there was something going on, something bad and she needed to know what it was. She knew whatever it was couldn't be good but nothing could of prepared her for what she saw. She gasped when she saw Greg huddled in the far corner of the room, blood smeared everywhere and Nick kneeling on the floor feet away from him. Catherine didn't say anything, just walked to Greg, knelt next to him and held out her hand. Greg had a much better reaction to Catherine and moved both his bound, shaking hands towards hers about an inch until he had to stop because of the pain it caused. Catherine carefully held onto his hands as he began to break down into tears before her. "Shush, it's going to be okay Greg" Catherine cooed. Nick just looked on at Greg, one thought going through his mind, _what the hell happened?_

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><p>Chapter 1 finished! Please review, don't forget I accept anonymous reviews! Hopefully I will post another chapter... But I need reviews! Thanks for reading and please review!<p> 


	2. You're Not Fine

Yay, thankyou so much for my frist five reviews CODIS, Pikapikatchu, Sandra03, WitchGirl and Crushed-And-Broken- Rose! I really appreciate it, probably more than you know! So here's the second chapter, and i'm going to try and make this one a little bit longer and change the way I write (when people speak). So please read and review, but most of all, enjoy!

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><p><strong>You're Not Fine<strong>

After almost ten minutes of Greg crying and sobbing uncontrollably, Catherine was finally able to calm him down and convince him he was safe. The paramedics arrived two minutes ago, but Nick told them to wait outside the restrooms with Hodges because he didn't want Greg to panic any more than he was already. Hodges had entered just after Catherine and Greg had ushered further back into the corner and started to shake violently again. He was a mess.

"Honey, I think we should get these things off of you now, don't you think?" Catherine asked Greg whilst pointing to the handcuffs around his wrists. Greg nodded quickly, still unable to talk with the duct tape around his head.

"Okay. First thing we need to do is take this from around your head" Catherine said to him quietly as she attempted to pick up the end of the duct tape and tried to pull it back. After seeing her struggle for about a minute, Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out a little pocket knife he had attached to his keyring. He walked over to Catherine, slowly but making enough noise so that both Catherine and Greg could here him coming. Catherine turned around to look at him and then turned back to Greg.

"I can't get this off with my hands so is it alright for Nick to come and cut it? He'll be careful, you've got nothing to worry about" Catherine smiled sweetly at him, trying to comfort him. Greg again shook his head, yes.

Nick came over and knelt infront of him by his head, "Don't worry man, you're 'gonna be fine. Just make sure you stay still, this'll only take a minute." Nick cut the tape in one swift move, then warned Greg that he was going to rip the tape from his skin and hair. Greg hissed from the sting, but it was nothing compared to the pain he was feeling all over his body.

"Greg, I'm going to cut the ties from your ankles okay?" Nick asked in a calm voice. Greg just whispered yes in reply.

Catherine then asked him a question, "Greg, honey, do you know where the key is to unlock these handcuffs?" Greg looked down.

Catherine glanced to Nick who showed the same concern that she felt, then turned her attention back to Greg, "Greg what's wrong? If we don't have the key we can get them off another way. Don't worry about it."

Greg shook his head slightly and said, "No the key's in my back pocket." Catherine now realized why he was looking down, he was ashamed, embarrassed about one of his closest friends going into his back pocket which had been pulled down showing his rear end to all. Nick knew Greg would be uncomfortable with him around there so he backed away and turned around to look at the wall, giving him the privacy he deserved.

"That's fine. I'm just going to get it okay? Don't worry, and just say if I hurt you, okay?" Catherine asked. Greg just nodded, not able to talk as he was crying quietly and trying to swallow the ever growing lump in his throat. Catherine reached around tentatively and reached deep down into Greg's pocket to retrieve the key. She couldn't help but notice the amount of blood that was on Greg's pants and boxers, there was so much, too much to have come from one person. Greg stiffened up as soon as he felt Catherine touch his pocket. It was his first reaction to tense up and try and make himself as hard as possible. Catherine retrieved the key, and noted Greg's reaction.

"That's it. Got it" She said to Greg, yet he was still as tense as before. Nick turned around and just observed quietly as Catherine unlocked the handcuffs and took them off. Greg's wrists were rubbed raw and bleeding. The handcuffs were on so tight that they had actually dug into Greg's skin. Nick figured he had been trying to get out of them too, which had probably dug into them more.

"The paramedics are waiting outside, are they okay to come in?" Catherine asked Greg, whilst picking up his hand in hers.

Greg shook his head sternly, "No, i'm fine. I just 'wanna go home" he said, staring at Catherine who was infront of him.

"Greg man, you're not fine. You're hurt and you need to go to the hospital" Nick told him softly and knelt down infront of him, next to Catherine. Greg only shook his head more, still staring blankly ahead. Catherine and Nick shared concerned glances. Nick stood and went to the door and motioned for someone to come in. The paramedics. Greg looked up then backed into the wall again.

Catherine's hand was still holding his when she said, "Greg, honey, they're here to help. I can see you're in pain and they can help that. I'll stay with you, okay?" She asked and her only reply was Greg bearly nodding his head. The paramedics took over and began asking him questions stragiht away, "Can you feel this? Where's the pain? How long have you been here?" But Greg couldn't answer, he was too scared and it was taking all his will power to not crawl away from them. Greg was trembling so much hat one paramedic had to hold his head, as to not cause further injury. Flashbacks were entering Greg's mind and he freaked out. He tore his hand from Catherine and began throwing punches at anyone who attempted to touch him. Only with his left arm though, as his right shoulder was shattered, making movement almost impossible. His legs flew out anywhere and everywhere, kicked air because no one dare get close. Catherine tried to talk to him, calm him down but Greg was not listening, lost in his own world. There was only one option left, he was causing himself too much pain, so one paramedic injected him with a sedative. Not without getting punched in the nose first though. Only half a minute after the sedative had been injected, Gregs body became limp as he slipped unconscious.

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><p>Second chapter down! Don't forget I accept anonymous reviews, so please take a minute to tell me what you thought and maybe some of your ideas for future chapters! Thanks for reading and please review!<p> 


	3. That Smell

**Thank you so, so much for the reviews: pikapikatchu WitchGirl Hi Sandra03 greggo-123 and Shukumei4U! Gosh, it's been ages since I've been on here. Sorry for such a long wait, I've had exams for the past months :( But that's no excuse, so please forgive me! Righto, here's chapter 3... Enjoy and please, please, please review!**

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><p><strong>That Smell<strong>

'Hospitals. Whichever one you go in, they all smell the same. God, that smell, it's just awful. Why don't they at least try to disguise the smell as something half decent? I hate hospitals. I hate being here. Sure, people come here for good things, such as the birth of a new child, but most of the time it's bad. Again, that darn smell! It's everywhere!'

Nick was snapped out of his trance by someone calling his name. Catherine.

"Hey, didn't see you there" Nick said whilst standing up to free his chair, so that Catherine could sit down.

"Thanks" Catherine said and smiled kindly. "He's just gone into surgery. He was pretty broken up about everything" She said in a sad voice.

Nick nodded his head against the wall he was leaning on, "Well, that's understandable I guess, after... well, you know, what I assume's happened."

Of course Catherine knew what he was on about; all his injuries were consistent with it. And neither of them thought an SAE test was necessary. But, it was part of the rules to do one on a victim. After all, as horrible as it sounds, Greg was one of them. A victim. Some may say a survivor, being a victim that's still alive- a survivor, someone who's strong enough to go through it all and still be here. Even though sometimes it seems that it's not worth it.

"What the hell did he do to deserve this? This shouldn't happen to anyone, but especially not Greg!" Catherine cried.

Nick knelt down next to her, "He's going to be fine, you'll see. He's tough."

"You didn't see him though Nick. He woke up in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by strange people. He probably thought it was happening again. You should have seen his eyes. You could see the fear and panic. And now he's alone and has no idea what's going on around him!" Catherine threw her hands up in frustration and anger, and Nick grabbed them and pulled Catherine into a hug.

Four hours. Four hours they had been sat on the same hard plastic chairs. Nick had gone in search of one shortly after Catherine had calmed down. Now they sat waiting for any news about Greg's surgery. They were trying to fix his right shoulder, trying to piece it back together. Only God knows what they did to it. What could they possibly have done to cause it to shatter? The mind boggles at times trying to figure things out. They'd have to ask Greg, that's if he'd talk. Russell had called. Wanted to know if they'd heard about Greg. Everyone at the lab was worried about him, but Russell told them they could go and see him when he was awake. They'd be more use at the lab and Russell had promised to tell them whatever he knew as soon as he found out.

A total of five and a half hours later and finally Dr. Stalin had come to inform them of Greg's condition.

"I'm sorry we only had a brief introduction before." She apologized first. "Mr Sanders' shoulder has been repaired as good as possible, but unfortunately, it's still uncertain if he will have a correctly functional right arm. He appeared to have had multiple blows to his head, which has caused quite some damage to his skull and some damage to his brain. Again, it's still uncertain how much damage has been done until we can assess him when he's conscious. As for the rest of his injuries, they will all heal nicely over time, his broken ribs, the chip in his collar bone, the tearing inside and outside caused from the sexual assault, the two broken fingers- again on his right side and the fracture on his left ankle and tibia. I know this has to be very traumatic for you, and also for Greg, but it could have been a lot worse. With a lot of help and support, Greg can make a full recovery. I know it."

Both Catherine and Nick nodded their understanding of what Dr Stalin had just told them. Catherine spoke up next, "Can we go and sit with him? I don't want him to be alone when he wakes up."

But Dr. Stalin didn't need an explanation; she fully understood why Catherine wanted to be with him. "Of course you can. He shouldn't be asleep for much longer as we didn't give him a strong dose because we wanted him to wake as soon as possible. When he does come round, try to keep him calm, tell him everything he wants to hear, if he's in pain we will sort him out when we come to check on him. If you need me for anything, just tell a member of staff to call me" She said with a sweet smile.

Nick and Catherine nodded again, then went to find Greg's room. Catherine sucked in a deep breath at the sight before her. Greg looked bad before, but now he looked a hundred times worse. Bruises that weren't there before had appeared, to leave all visible skin a dark purple, black or blue. Dried blood surrounded the cuts, making them stand out from his face. Bandages covered some cuts on his arms and chest, which was not covered because it would cause more harm to keep adding and removing the flimsy piece of cloth. So he was only covered from the waist down. His right arm lay limp over his chest whilst his left lied beside his still form. Greg was a mess.

Catherine gently placed a soft hand over Greg's and smoothed his hair back with her other hand, motherly instincts taking over. Nick brought over two chairs and they sat there in silence waiting for Greg to wake up.

Just half an hour later and Greg began to stir. His eyes moved frantically beneath his closed eyelids, and his left hand began to tremor ever so slightly under Catherine's. His hand cold in contrast to hers.

"Greg? Greg? Honey, it's okay, you're at the hospital. Can you open your eyes for me? It's only me, Catherine, and Nick here" Catherine said in a soft whisper, trying to entice Greg to wake up. Whether it was Catherine or not Greg actually decided to open his eyes.

At first he looked dazed and confused but then something clicked inside of him and he was suddenly very aware of what had happened. He looked around and saw only white washed walls, just like the restroom where it happened. Panic flared up in him. He had to run. Get away whilst he could. But he couldn't. It was almost like a cloud had come over him with some mysterious force preventing him from sitting up.

Nick and Catherine could see something change in Greg's eyes and acted straight away. "Hey, you with us G? You're safe here, okay? We're not 'gonna let anything happen to you" Nick told him but it was as if Greg couldn't hear him. Catherine tried also, but with little luck.

Greg finally looked Catherine straight in the eye and began to try and speak. The oxygen mask over his mouth muffled his words. Catherine reached up to it whilst saying "It's okay, just calm down. I'm only taking this off." Greg froze when Catherine's hand touched him, making it easy for Catherine to pull it off of his head. "There we go" She said.

Greg looked back and forth between Nick and Catherine, both waiting for him to speak. "Where?" Was the only distinguishable word that he said, everything else just mumbles.

"You're in the hospital man. We came pretty close to losing you" Nick told him truthfully.

Greg just stared at him for a few seconds, then began talking again, "I sort've knew. I know the smell."

Nick just looked at him and chuckled slightly, "Yeh, I know what you mean man. Too well."

Catherine just smiled at him, still holding onto his hand. However, her face changed from one of relief to one of concern and confusion when Greg started fidgeting and pulling pained faces.

"Woah, woah, woah. Where do you think you're going?" Catherine asked him, gently tugging on his arm to try and still him.

Greg looked at her with tears in his eyes, "I wanna get up, but… I can't. I just can't" Greg cried to them in an almost silent whisper, his eyes pleading with them for help.

Nick rose from his chair and began to try and help Greg get up, but stopped when Greg shrunk away from him and stared at him wide eyed. Nick held up his hands, "Don't worry, I was just going to help that's all. If you'd rather someone else come I'll go get 'em" He said, then looked to Catherine, who just looked worried.

Greg looked to Catherine also and began to apologize to both of them. Nick and Catherine looked to each other. 'It was going to be a long road ahead.'

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><p><strong>Don't forget, I accept anonymous reviews, so please get writing and tell me what you think! Thanks for reading!<strong>


	4. Examination

**Thanks for the reviews for chapter 3, pikapikatchu, Sandra03 and greggo-123! Again, they are greatly appreciated, I love to know what you think :) Sorry it's been a while since I've updated, but here's chapter 4, enjoy and please review to tell me what you think!**

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><p><strong>Examination<strong>

A nurse walked in, closely followed by Nick who had gone to find someone. "Hello, Mr... Sanders" the nurse said as she picked up the clipboard at the end of the bed. "I'm Nurse Paige. I understand Dr. Stalin is your main Dr. But I'm afraid she isn't available right now. So, hopefully I'll be of some help. What seems to be the problem?" She asked looking at Greg and smiling slightly, trying to be as inviting as she could and giving him her full attention.

Greg glanced up at her with wet, red rimmed eyes. "My, legs... they..." Greg sniffed as more tears leaked from his eyes. Catherine squeezed his hand, offering him her much needed comfort.

"Okay, don't worry, what's wrong with your legs? Try not to get worked up. Whatever happens, there will be something we can do about it, okay?" Nurse Paige told him.

After taking some deep breaths, Greg spoke again, "I can't move them" he cried. "They won't move..."

Catherine again squeezed his hand, whilst Nick just hovered at the end of the bed, looking more concerned about Greg.

Nurse Paige then moved around to the side of his bed. "Okay, i'm just going to take a look. Is it both legs?" She asked to confirm. In answer to her question, Greg nodded.

The sheets were turned up at the bottom of the hospital bed to expose Greg's discoloured legs. His feet were covered by some socks.

Greg tensed when her hand made contact with his leg. This didn't go unnoticed by all the other three people in the room. He also gripped Catherine's hand tighter. His breathing hitched and began to get heavier. Catherine grabbed the oxygen mask she had previously taken off and placed it over his head. Not before she had shown Greg what she was doing though.

"Alright" Nurse Paige began, "Can you feel this?" She asked whilst pressing gently along his right leg. Greg nodded quickly. "And the left leg?" She asked him again, repeating her actions, but on his left leg. Greg's answer was the same, the only difference being that he hissed slightly in pain. "That's good, both legs still have feeling in. I take it you've got a little bit of pain from the fractures on your left leg, correct?" Greg nodded yet again and was getting dizzy from all the nodding he was doing.

Moving around the other side of the bed, Nurse Paige spoke again, "I just need to roll you on your side and take a look at your spine" She began to place her hands on Greg, but stopped. Greg yanked his hand from Catherine's and tried to shuffle away from both the nurse and Catherine.

Nick stepped forward, "Now hang on. Why'd you have to do that?" He asked, his Texan accent coming through.

"I just need to see if I can feel anything unusual that may be causing the paralyses in Greg's legs" She explained, feeling a little bit intimidated by the largely built man standing in front of her.

Nick pulled a face, "He's had scans and everything, they would have shown something like that. You know that, hell even I know that!" Nick said, raising his voice the more he talked.

Catherine stood up and put her hand on Nicks chest, "Nick don't shout at her, she is only doing her job"

"Well she aint doin' it very well! She can clearly see that he's uncomfortable and doesn't want her manhandling him! Now why don't you go get someone who knows what they're doin' huh?" Nick directed the last bit to Nurse Paige, now shouting as loud as he could, anger clearly showing on his face.

She looked down at Greg before heading out of the room, "I'm sorry that i've upset you Sir. I honestly am, I didn't intentionally do it. I was just doing my duties. I'll go and fetch another member of staff to tend to Mr Sanders." She said quietly to Nick before leaving.

Catherine slapped his arm, "Nick, what the hell was that about? You can't just do that to innocent people!" She told him, her voice too rising to match Nick's volume.

"She was prodding and poking at him without even asking him! She didn't even realise he was in pain for God's sake!" Nick ended his outburst with a frustrated sigh.

Catherine and Nick looked at Greg, and saw that he was fidgeting. A lot.

"Greg, honey, i'm sorry about all that. Another Nurse will be in soon." Catherine told him. But Greg was still fidgeting.

Greg started crying gently, "Can I have a shirt? Please... I... I don't..." Greg didn't finish his sentence, just pulled the sheet up as high as he could,

Catherine looked up at Nick, who had already started to go out the room to fetch the requested item. "Of course you can Greg. You can have whatever you want. Just say what you need and we'll get it" She told him and smiled.

Not even a minute later and Nick was back with Dr. Stalin.

"Mr Sanders, it's good to see you up and awake. Mr Stokes has explained everything to me, and i've got your x-rays to show you." She said holding up the x-ray of his back.

"This is-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but could he have the shirt first? Please?" Catherine said, pointing to the shirt she held in her other hand.

Dr. Stalin put the x-ray down and smiled at Catherine, then Greg who still held the sheets tightly up to his chest.

"Sure, but first i'd like to do a full examination of Greg" She told them. Greg closed his eyes. All he wanted was to put the shirt on and sleep. He had actually forgotten about his legs.

"Do you need us to go?" Nick asked Dr Stalin, and Greg shook his head and stared at Nick, silently pleading with him to not leave.

Dr Stalin looked at Greg and said to him, "They can stay if you want but the examination will include me going over and checking _all_ of your injuries" She stressed all, and immediately saw Greg's attitude change.

Nick saw this too and spoke up, "Well how about Catherine stays and i'll wait outside?" He looked at Catherine who nodded slightly, showing him that she was fine with the arrangement. Greg also nodded to Nick and he nodded back, then went to wait outside.

Dr Stalin went over Greg's injuries first, just telling him. Then, the examination began. Everything was going fine and Greg was handling it well. The only signs that he was bothered being that he was tensed and squeezing Catherine's hand so hard that she felt it might bruise! But she didn't say anything just smoothed her hand over his hair and kept pushing the oxygen mask back over Greg's mouth, which he kept trying to remove. He had bad memories of things covering and being in his mouth.

But the worst was still to come; Dr Stalin rolled him on his side, removed the sheets and examined his back passage. Greg started to cry silently, looking at Catherine throughout it all. She offered supportive comments, 'You're doing great Greggo', 'Not much longer', 'You're so brave', 'Just look at me, it will be over in a minute'. Whether they helped calm him down or not she never stopped talking to him, soothing him.

By the end of it, Greg was shaking like a leaf and having trouble breathing since he was working himself up so much. It seemed like forever, both for Greg and Catherine, but in reality it was only about ten minutes.

"Greg, you've done extremely well. It's over now so just relax, okay? Everything's already on its way to being back to normal. Now i'm afraid the paralysis of your legs may be permanent. When we took the x-ray of your back, we saw a small injury to your spine but it's so small there's nothing we could do at the time. We'll give you a back brace today, which may help your spine to mend itself back together. You are coherent and you seem fully aware of everything so that's good. The brain damage you have is more than likely not going to affect you too much; we'll have to wait to see if any problems arise in the future. I know this is a lot to take in, but you have great friends that I can see will help you through everything. Now, i'm going, but if you need anything just page me" After everything she said she scribbled down her pager number and gave it to Catherine.

"Should I send your friend back in?" She asked Greg. Greg just nodded. His eyes never leaving his and Catherine's intertwining hands.

Dr Stalin left Greg's room and almost walked into Nick who was just coming back outside the room, carrying four cups of coffee.

"Woah! Sorry Ma'am, didn't see you there! Nick said than chuckled slightly.

Dr Stalin also smiled and laughed, "It's alright, Nick was it?"

"Yeah, yeah it is" Nick said, staring at her eyes.

"Erm, I got you a coffee" He said, snapping out of his trance and picking a coffee cup out of the holder. "Didn't know how you liked it so, just guessed. If you'd rather have one of these..." Nick offered but she was already shaking her head.

"This is lovely, just how I like it" She told him. "Thankyou"

Nick nodded and smiled.

"You can go in and see Greg now. He's lucky to have you. I'll see you another time, and thanks again for the coffee" Dr Stalin said, raising her coffee cup and smiling to him.

"No worries" Nick said and nodded to her as she pasted.

Greg looked up wide eyed when there was a knock at the door.

"Hey, brought us all some coffee. Thought it might be able to wake us up a lil bit" Nick said as he walked in.

Greg moved his gaze back down to his hand in Catherine's; tears still in his eyes.

Catherine looked up at Nick and smiled as he handed her a cup of coffee.

"Greg you want yours now or shall I put it on the side?" Nick asked, trying to be as casual as he could. Greg shook his head so Nick decided to put it on the table. He then grabbed a chair from the far side of the room and pulled it up next to Catherine's.

"I think Dr Stalin has a thing for me you know" Nick said, the smallest grin sneaking its way onto his face.

Catherine raised her eyebrow, "Oh really?" She said in a friendly tone. "Why do you think that?"

"Well, you know. We got talking outside. I think it was my charm that got her" Nick joked.

"Your charm?" Catherine said humorously. "Don't get your hopes up Nick, I think she's got her eye on Greg" Catherine said, squeezing Greg's hand and smiling warmly at him.

But Greg wasn't looking, he hadn't moved his eyes once. He'd hardly even blinked.

Catherine squeezed his hand once more then started a conversation with Nick again.

Ten minutes later and Nick and Catherine were still talking about anything yet nothing. Greg had hardly moved and hadn't said a word.

Then, something inside of him changed. He brought his left hand up to his face which he tried to nuzzle into the pillow. But it was no use. Greg began crying. Not just a few tears. A waterfall. He tried to stop them from coming but the harder he tried, the faster they seemed to come.

Catherine put her coffee down and put her head down to his. "Shush, it's okay Greg. We're here" She said and began smoothing his hair down again which she had previously done.

"You're alright man, we gotcha buddy. They won't bother you again" Nick said, choosing to cradle his coffee instead of trying to make contact with Greg.

Greg gripped Catherine's hand as hard as he could and cried.

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><p><strong>WOW! That was a long chapter! After all that, surely you have something to say about it? Yeah? Thought so, just press the review button and write whatever you want :) Anonymous reviews accepted and criticism is welcome! Thanks for reading!<strong>


	5. We Will Catch Them

**Thanks to CSI Burrell, Sandra03 and Pikapikatchu for the reviews! Love getting them! Although, it would be great if I could get a few more *cough cough*.This chapter is a bit here and there, so I apologise in advance about the switching from one thing to another. I love to know your opinions and what you think! So please take the time to write a lil bit of a review! On with Chapter 5...**

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><p><strong>We Will Catch Them<strong>

An hour had passed since Greg's emotions broke loose, and he had actually cried himself to sleep. Russell, Sara, Morgan and Hodges had come to the hospital, after Nick called them.

"We've collected everything we can from the restrooms. They're not going to get away with this." Russell told Catherine and Nick sternly.

Catherine sighed and rubbed her thumb over the back of Greg's hand. "I know they're not, but this should never have happened to him. Not Greg." She said sadly.

They all stared at Greg, not saying anything but silently agreeing with Catherine.

"We, er..." Morgan started, "We recovered semen from multiple donors, none of them were in the system" She said rather quickly. "There were no weapons found, but I suppose all of his injuries could be explained by just harsh physical contact..." She stopped.

Nobody knew this but she had a small crush on Greg. Seeing him in so much pain just made her want to cry, yet punch someone at the same time. The people who had done this to him. If she was the one to find them, there's no guarantee that she would stick to protocol. At all.

They all looked alert at Greg's face as he began to stir. His breathing was becoming less deep, more light, but it was still troubled. His eyes fluttered open, showing everyone the pain and hurt they held. He looked around and when he saw everyone, he tried to sit up a little bit straighter but failed miserably and ended up settling back down on the bed.

"Hey Greg. It's so good to see you awake!" Russell said to him, a wide smile on his face.

"Yeah, it was weird not having you flirting with all the hot nurses around" Sara said, smiling to him also.

Everybody laughed in the room and even Greg tried smiling at her attempt at humour. But it hurt his jaw so he brought his left hand up to rub at it.

Nick frowned, "What's up man?" He queried.

"Just hurts when I move my mouth a bit" Greg told them with the side of his lips raised a little bit trying to smile at everyone.

"Do you want me to get a nurse to come and fix you up with something?" Russell asked him kindly.

Greg shook his head, "No, I'll be okay thanks. Stuff just knocks me out anyway."

"Maybe that's a good thing. You deserve a good rest" Sara said to him, giving him that look that said 'You really should listen to me'.

Greg looked down, shaking his head, "Nah, it's not. I'd rather talk to you guys" He said lifting his head and attempting to smile once more.

This made everyone smile. After all he'd been through he was willing to keep himself up.

"We got you a gift!" Sara reached into her shoulder bag, "I say gift... It's more, well I don't know. But they're for you anyway." She handed them over to him and he took his right hand from Catherine's.

"Thanks" Greg said as he took the gift from her. He placed it down on the bed before trying to push himself into a sitting position like he had previously.

Nick could see Greg struggling and knew he would end up hurting himself. "Hey man, take it easy. You wanna hand?"

Greg looked at him, then at everyone else, blinking away tears that were starting to build up. He then nodded to Nick.

Nick rose from his seat and supported Greg under his right arm, letting him push himself up with his left arm. Greg did flinch and tense when Nick first touched him, but then tried to relax and hide his nervousness from everyone. But, they saw anyway.

Greg did a small nervous laugh when he was finally sat up, "thanks" he said to Nick, who nodded at him and smiled.

"Guess it'll take a while to get used to this" Greg said as he looked down to his legs.

"Hey, don't talk like that! We don't know what's going to happen yet. Keep an open mind" Catherine told him sternly.

Greg turned his head to her then looked away again.

"Hey, what happened to this present?" Nick asked whilst nodding his head towards the gift on the bed.

Greg picked up the gift with his left hand, he tried both hands but the right hand was having none of it, so he tried to act like it didn't bother him and continued to open the gift.

He managed to rip the tape off and then the paper easily followed. Inside was some Blue Hawaiian coffee, the sort he hadn't had since working in the lab.

"Thanks, you didn't have to. I know how expensive this stuff is" Greg said to them.

"Too expensive!" Sara said. "I can't believe you used to buy it every week!"

Greg smiled, "Yeah. I've missed it. Thanks" He said to them and smiled again.

"You're welcome Greg" Russell said, matching Greg's smile, but his was slightly wider. Sara also smiled back. Morgan was sat in her chair with her head down.

Greg looked at her, then everyone else. "Thanks Morgan" he said to her, making her look up and smile.

"Hmm, don't mention it. It was Sara's idea" she said and then looked down at her watch. Everybody saw this and when she said she had to go, they all saw Greg's face drop and him look down.

As she was heading to the door she said, "I'll see you guys back at the lab". She didn't even acknowledge Greg.

When she closed the door, everyone else in the room looked at each other, besides Greg who was still looking down.

Nick stood up, "I'll be back in a minute".

"Hey, Morgan!" Nick shouted down the corridor as he jogged after her. She turned around and smiled.

"Hey, what's up? You need a ride?" she asked him innocently, smiling a lot more than when she was in there.

"No I don't need a ride. But I do need to know what the hell that was all about!" He said to her in an angry, threatening tone.

Morgan gave a confused look, "What what was about?"

"Don't give me that bull! You know exactly what I'm talking about. You said about two words to Greg. He's been through crap in the last 24 hours and now you're giving him the silent treatment? Why Morgan?" Nick demanded.

Morgan gave a surprised face, "I didn't intentionally do it. I just have somewhere to be, it's important" she explained.

Nick pulled a face, "More important than one of your teammates, your friend, who's lying in a hospital bed?" he asked her.

Morgan sighed and again looked down. When she looked up again, Nick was walking back down the corridor.

When Nick was in sight of Greg's room, he saw Catherine and the others standing outside.

"What's goin' on?"

"We're heading off now. Greg said he was getting tired, so we're going to come back in the morning" Catherine told him.

Nick nodded and the others began walking off. "I'll see you later, I'm just gonna say bye to Greg" He told them with a smile.

"Right, we'll see you next shift then" Catherine said.

"If you end up staying with Greg just call and you can have it off" Russell added.

Nick smiled at him, "Thanks Russell, appreciate it." After that he waved them off and opened the door.

Greg was still sat up and had his hands to his face.

"G?" Nick asked. Greg looked at him, tears streaming down his face.

"Hey man what's wrong?"

Greg shook his head. "Does she hate me?"

Nick looked at him, "Who?" he asked, although he already knew exactly who he was talking about.

"Morgan" Greg sniffed. "She completely blanked me. Why did she even come?" he asked Nick, whilst trying to compose himself.

"She was probably just shocked. It's not every day you see one of your friends in hospital. Don't worry about it man" Nick told him, then scolded himself. Why was he sticking up for her? That's why he went to find her, ask about her behaviour and he gave her a piece of his mind. Now, he was sticking up for her?

Greg looked at him, "Yeah, I'll try. But, you know how I like her" Greg said to him and Nick nodded. Liked her, she was practically the only thing he talked about! Nick actually thought about setting them up before, but after today he was going to have a s little to do with her as possible.

"She just sat there and didn't even say bye" Greg continued. He sighed. "Am I being stupid?"

"No way man!" Nick told him, "And don't you ever think that. It's her who's being stupid. But, she'll be over it by tomorrow" he told him.

Greg nodded. "I'm sorry for earlier, I dunno what I was doing. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable too" He said, looking sheepishly at Nick. Crying in front of his best friend wasn't what he was planning on doing.

Nick smiled, "Meh, it was nothing. Don't worry about it. You've got a lot on your plate right now."

Greg sighed. "What am I going to do if I can't walk again?" He asked Nick, who saw the worry he was trying to hide.

"Do what Doc does; live your life like everyone else" Nick told him straight.

Greg turned his head towards him, "Yeah but I won't be able to; I won't be able to live where I do now, I'll have to move to a one floored place, I'll have to find another job, find some transport because I won't be able to drive a car" Greg rambled on.

"Woah, woah, woah man. You could move in with me for a while, if you wanted. It's a one level house, big enough for two people. You could still work like usual, you could work in the lab if things don't change with your legs, I mean you still know more about DNA than anyone else who works there now! And then you could come to work with me every day, if we do different shifts, someone else could drop you off." Nick told him calmly.

Greg just lay there and didn't say a word. His eyelids were drooping and his breathing deepened.

Nick waited a minute until it was clear that Greg was asleep.

He took a piece of paper off a notepad that was in the room and scribbled down a message:

_It's nice to know I'm so boring that you can actually fall asleep whilst I'm talking to you! See you in the morning._

_Nick_

Nick stood up and shut the door silently behind him.

"Excuse me, is anyone else in with Mr Sanders at the moment?" A nurse asked as he closed the door.

"Eh, no, he's asleep right now" Nick told her with a smile.

"Oh right, well I was just going to check on him. Did he seem to be in any pain at all?"

"Nope. I think he's okay" Nick said.

The nurse looked down at her clipboard. "That's great. If he continues like this tomorrow he'll be free to go" She told him happily.

"Great!" Nick said, beaming with joy. "Thanks for looking after him."

"Haha, you're welcome. It is my job after all!" She said before walking away.

Nick went home happy.

"Here we are guys" Nick said as him, Greg and Catherine pulled up outside Greg's house.

Greg had been released from the hospital a few hours ago. Catherine and Nick had picked him up and arrangements were made about where Greg would stay. Both Catherine and Nick offered to have Greg, but in the end Nick was the one who was getting him, it was more convenient and even though Greg wouldn't have thought it since what happened, or tell Catherine, he felt safer with Nick.

Unfortunately, Greg's paralysis had not disappeared. Catherine opened the door of the passenger side and Nick got the wheelchair Greg would have to use from the trunk.

Nick supported, and lifted Greg, out of the car whilst Catherine stood behind the wheelchair.

Once Greg was out of the car and in the chair, he thanked Nick and Catherine then wheeled him to his front door.

"I don't have my keys. They were in my pocket when..." Greg couldn't finish his sentence, but they knew what he meant.

"Don't worry, there's a woman here you know. I've brought a key with me. It's a good job I didn't leave it up to you two, you'd be stuck out here all night!" Catherine exaggerated.

Nick laughed but Greg was in a different world, having flash backs of his attack.

Catherine pushed him inside and Nick followed behind.

"Okay where is everything you need, upstairs?" Catherine asked him, also admiring his house.

Greg was just staring downwards. Nick looked at Catherine.

"Greg?" Catherine asked. When he didn't respond, she tapped his arm. Greg spun to her wide eyed.

Catherine and Nick looked at each other concerned.

"Honey, did you hear me then? " Catherine asked him softly.

Greg was still staring at her with wide eyes. He shook his head.

Catherine smiled at him sympathetically. "Are all your things upstairs?"

Greg rubbed his temples, "Erm... I'ya..." Greg coughed. "Eh... I dunno. I can't remember, my heads like blurry or something." He explained to them, still rubbing his head.

"You want a drink or something?" Nick asked him. Greg whispered 'no' and Catherine went upstairs to find whatever she thought he would need. Before she went though, she asked "Why don't you lie down on the sofa and try to get a bit of sleep? You look exhausted." Greg said he didn't need to and Catherine left him with Nick.

Greg screwed his eyes shut. "Why can't I think straight? Everything's just jumbled around."

Nick sat down on the sofa, near to where Greg was. "Well, maybe it's something to do with the brain damage. It's been what 48 hours and you're already out the hospital already. You're probably pushing yourself too hard. Just take it easy for a couple of days."

Greg didn't answer only rubbed his hands over his face.

Ten minutes later and Catherine came down with a huge bag full of Greg's belongings.

"Greg you have such a nice place here, it's huge! I really-" Catherine was hushed by Nick who held a finger up to his lips.

She looked around and saw Greg's head slumped on his left shoulder. She could hear him breathing deep as his nose had been damaged a little bit.

"And he said he didn't need to sleep" Catherine laughed with Nick.

Nick laughed. "Yeah. Man, he's so tired. Shall we stay here for a while and let him rest or take him to mine now?"

"We'll take him to yours now. He's going to get a stiff neck if he stays like that for long" Catherine replied.

"Alright then. Let's go."

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><p><strong>Yeah, yeah, I know. It could have been written as separate chapters but hey- ho, it's another chapter and pretty soon if I do say so myself! Thanks for reading and don't forget, I accept anonymous reviews so please take a minute to tell me what you think! Thanks again<strong>


	6. Nick's House

**Thanks for the reviews as always ****greggo-123****, ****Momodude115****, Sandra03, Tracy and Sam! I love to know what you all think so please drop a review at the end And don't forget I accept anonymous reviews so you don't even need a log in! Please enjoy and review at the end!**

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><p><strong>Nicks House<strong>

"Sorry we had to wake you up man, twice! I know how tired you are. But, your bed's all set up so you can sleep as soon as we get inside" Nick explained to Greg as they were walking up Nick's drive to his house, Greg being pushed by Catherine again. He had fallen asleep in the car on the short journey from his to Nick's, showing them all how tired he was.

Nick unlocked his front door and held it open for both Catherine and Greg.

"I must say Nicky, Greg's house kicks your house's butt!" Catherine told him, looking around the small one floored house compared to Greg's two story one.

"Huh!" Nick huffed. "Well sorry that this isn't how you wish Catherine! This is what I can afford alright? And it's all I want" Nick said whilst patting the wall as he walked through to his kitchen.

Catherine laughed, "Well, if this is what you like, you can stick to it!"

Nick came back from the kitchen where he had put Greg's medication that had been prescribed to him.

"How the hell did you manage to pay for such a big house Greggo?" Nick asked him, secretly jealous about the younger mans crib.

Greg looked up, "I inherited quite a bit of money from my Mom and my Papa Olaf. I also saved from when I got my first job too" He told them, not sounding very bothered about the amount of money he really owned.

"It must've been a hell of a lotta money!" Nick stated with raised eyebrows and a grin.

Greg smiled and nodded once, "Yeah, yeah it was. I didn't even know I would be getting it until each of them died and I got these letters saying that they'd both left it to me. I, eh, I was very lucky" He said and smiled to them both again.

They both smiled back, glad to see him genuinely happy at the memory of his family.

"You deserved that money, I can bet" Catherine told him and smiled at him then Nick.

There was a bang outside Nick's kitchen window, which made everybody look, but Greg's mind went into overdrive and he looked over madly, trying to figure out what caused the loud noise.

"Ergh! That damn shed door. Keeps swinging open for no God damn reason." Nick complained.

Greg's breathing had increased slightly, so he was breathing a little bit hard. He tried to act natural and regulate his breathing but Catherine saw he was shaken up and decided to rub him on his back. This sent Greg over the edge, he shot forward, nearly falling out of his wheelchair and began to have a panic attack. Flashbacks entered his mind of all those men touching him, just like Catherine had. He couldn't breathe. His chest was constricting, becoming tight making it hard for his chest to rise and fall, adding to his pain from his ribs.

Catherine looked at Nick for help.

"Hey, Greggo, chill out okay? You need to slow down your breathing." Nick told him. He was knelt down next to him so that he was eye level with him.

Catherine spoke next, "Greg, i'm sorry it was only me. Please calm down" She almost begged him, feeling terrible knowing that she helped to get him this worked up.

Greg tried and tried, but nothing was working. He just couldn't breathe slower. Soon enough, he could feel himself falling gently, slowly towards the ground. And just before he made a head dive at the floor and blacked out, he felt strong arms stopping him from the huge impact he would have felt if he continued to fall.

"Oh my gosh! Nicky should I call an ambulance for him?" Catherine asked, flapping her arms around in panic and worry.

Nick checked Greg's pulse when he was lying on the floor, passed out and collapsed from exhaustion. "No, I don't think he'll need, or want one. I think it's best we just put him in his room and let him rest." Nick told Catherine, and then picked Greg up, one arm around his back, the other under his knees.

Catherine followed them into Nick's spare bedroom, where she pulled back the covers on the bed, allowing Greg to be put down and the covers to be pulled up around his chest. Before the covers went over him though, Catherine removed his shoes.

"Well hopefully he'll be able to get some rest in here, instead of that darn hospital" Nick said whilst drawing the curtains.

Catherine stood at the end of the bed Greg slept in and just stared at him.

Nick turned around to look at her, "He'll be fine you know."

Catherine looked up to him and smiled, "Yeah, I know."

"You staying for a beer? Or I have coffee, juice..." Nick offered, showing her his handsome smile.

Catherine laughed and sighed all at once. "I think i'll go with the beer. Just the one though, I'm driving" She reminded him.

Nodding, Nick motioned for her to follow him out of the room. He started closing the door but left it open slightly.

Catherine plopped down onto his sofa, sighing again whilst doing it.

Nick grabbed a beer out of the fridge for each of them and dropped down next to her, passing her a drink.

Nick huffed, "It's been a rough couple of days huh?" He asked her, rolling his head back onto the sofa.

"Yeah, you could say that" Was the short reply he got back from Catherine. They stayed in silence for a couple of minutes, both lost in thought.

They were suddenly attracted towards the bedroom where Greg was. It sounded as if there was a retching coming from inside the room. Nick put is beer down on the table in front of him and headed that direction. Catherine then mirrored his actions.

Nick got to the door of the bedroom and rushed in when he saw Greg struggling to get up and the expression on his face.

Greg looked at him and said "I think i'm 'gonna be sick". He then tried sitting up, since he was still lying on his side.

"Alright man. Here y'are" Nick said then hucked his arm under Greg's, hoisting him up. Greg groaned.

Nick sat on the edge of the bed, next to Greg. "You in pain?"

Greg nodded.

"Hey Catherine, can you grab us a glass of water and his meds from the kitchen please?" Nick asked her. She was stood at the doorway, not wanting to overwhelm Greg. She nodded slightly before quickly going to fetch the requested items.

Nick looked at Greg sadly. "Do you wanna go to the bathroom or stay here?" He asked him, wishing he could have had a restful sleep.

Greg swallowed thickly, "Here" was the only thing he said before looking down tiredly. Nick felt for him.

Catherine came back in the room and came over to them.

"Oh Greggo" She said sympathetically and placed the items on the set of draws next to the bed.

He looked up to her and smiled the best he could. He was so tired, and beginning to sweat.

"I'm just gonna fetch a bowl or something" Nick said. "I'll be right back."

Catherine took Nick's place next to Greg on the bed. "Do you want some water?" She asked him sweetly.

"Yeah, please" Greg said whilst looking over at it.

Catherine leaned over and grabbed the water.

"Here" She said and passed it to him.

His hands were shaking, from fear, fatigue or pain she did not know. Slowly he took the drink from her with his left hand. His right arm still had limited movement and hurt an awful lot when he attempted to move it.

Greg took a tiny sip of water and Catherine was struggling to tell if he'd even had any. He put the glass down on the bed and Catherine took it from him quickly, not wanting him to spill it.

"Right, here we are. You feeling any better?" Nick asked him hopefully.

Greg just shook his head slightly.

"Okay. Just relax, okay" Nick told him.

Greg just pulled an upset face before keeling over a bit and throwing up into the bowl Nick had given to him, in just the nick of time.

"That's it Greg, just get it out." Catherine told him, offering him the water again after he stopped throwing up. It had been a good long minute of continuous chucking up and it had tired Greg out and left him gasping for breath.

Nick placed a tentative hand on Greg's shoulder and to his and Catherine's surprise; Greg didn't flinch or try and move away.

"We're gonna have to stock you up now you're here, ya know!" Nick joked with him, earning a small smile from Greg which was clearly forced.

Greg still had his hand on the bowl and leaned over it again, throwing up some more. Nick rubbed his shoulder in a friendly way.

Once he'd stopped, Greg sighed and let a small sob slip from his lips.

"Hey, Greggo, I know you feel horrible but I don't want anything like that okay?" Catherine playfully told him off.

"You're going to be back to normal as soon as! And if you get upset, I can't guarantee I won't start getting upset myself!"

Greg laughed slightly and shuffled in the bed.

"Can I use your bathroom please?" He asked Nick.

Nick nodded, "Of course you can man! You don't have to ask! Do you think we can get rid of this now?" He asked pointing to the bowl.

Greg nodded and passed it cautiously to Nick, who took it off of him and placed it on the draws where his meds were.

"I'm sorry for all this" Greg apologised shyly, nibbling on his bottom lip.

"Don't worry about it, you've done nothing wrong!" Catherine scolded him whilst Nick chuckled.

"She's right!" He said, still laughing. "Here take some of these" He said after tipping two pills out of the orange bottle into his hand.

Greg took them and said thanks. Catherine passed him the water and he swallowed them without any fuss.

"Right, let's go to the bathroom then." Catherine got his wheelchair from where it was propped up against the wall and set it out.

"I take it you two can manage? If you need me for anything just give me a shout" She told them, then went back into the living room.

Nick helped Greg into the chair and pushed him through the room and to outside the bathroom.

"Will you be alright in there on ya own? If you need me just say the word" Nick said to him kindly.

Greg smiled, "Thanks, but I think i'll be alright" He told Nick then wheeled himself into the bathroom.

"Okay, but don't hesitate to ask me for help" Nick reminded him before he walked down the hall.

Greg shut the bathroom door and thought about how he was going to go about everything.

He rolled over to the toilet and lined up next to it. He steadied his weight on the arms of the chair and tried to push himself up, but his right arm caused him a lot of pain, so he lowered himself back down into the chair. He looked around, as if looking for another solution. However, much to his disappointment, he found none.

He braced himself on the chair and pushed with all his might. He managed to get himself up, despite the pain, but just as he tried to slide across to the toilet, he lost balance and came crashing down to the ground, smashing his head on the toilet. Hard.

"Do you think I should go see if he's okay?" Nick asked Catherine. He was growing increasingly curious about if Greg was getting on okay. After all, he had been in there for almost five minutes.

Catherine took a big breath in. "Maybe. Just shout through the door first and see if he needs any help" She advised him.

Nick nodded and got up.

Nick knocked on the bathroom door with his knuckles. "Hey Greg you okay? You need any help?"

When he didn't get an answer, Nick knocked again, slightly louder. "Greg?" He questioned.

Again, he received silence.

Nick tried the bathroom door and to his luck, Greg had left it open.

"God Greg" Nick said when he saw an unconscious Greg on the floor.

"Catherine!" He shouted loud enough for her to hear.

She came to the bathroom and pushed open the door.

She gasped when she saw Greg on the floor, the second time in one day.

She knelt down where Nick was who was keeping an eye on Greg's pulse with two fingers.

"What happened?" She asked, clearly upset.

Nick looked at her, "I've got no idea, I just came in here and he was on the floor."

Catherine looked over him and saw a wet patch down the front of his trousers and a small puddle by him.

"He's wet himself" Catherine told Nick.

Nick looked at her then Greg's head. He gently felt around his scalp until he found what he was looking for.

"He has a bump on his head. And I don't think it's from the beating." Nick told Catherine.

"My guess is that he tried to get to the toilet when he slipped, or something, and banged his head on the toilet maybe?" Nick suggested.

Catherine nodded, "Probably."

"Should I go and get him some clean clothes or... How are we doing this?" She asked Nick.

After thinking for a second Nick replied, "Yeah could you get him some more clothes? I think we should wait till he wakes up and give him a bath before anything else" Nick told her after.

Catherine agreed, then went to get the fresh clothes.

Nick sighed, this was only the first night.

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><p><strong>Please review everyone! Thank you for reading!<strong>


	7. Embarrassed

**Thanks for the reviews guys; ****Sandra03 , ****Momodude115**** and ****TheFoxFan**** :) They are greatly appreciated! I love knowing what you all think so please drop a review at the end of this chapter! But most of all, enjoy!**

**Embarrassed**

"Hey look who's decided to join us" Nick said as Greg woke up slowly.

Catherine got off of the side of the bath which she was sitting on and knelt down by Greg.

Greg made a pained grunting noise then felt around the back of his head.

Nick stopped him with his hand. "Don't touch it. It will probably be a little bit sore for a few days. You gave yourself quite an impressive bump!" Nick said.

Greg turned his head a bit to the side to try to see both of them better, but he couldn't, so started to begin pushing himself up with his left arm.

"Greg, let Nick help you up. How do you feel about having a bath now?" Catherine asked him whilst moving out of Nick's way, who was helping Greg up.

Greg was lifted by Nick onto the toilet, which had the lid down.

He looked down at himself and saw the darker patch on his pants. "I, erm. I think I kinda' need one." He admitted shyly.

Nick moved over to the bath and started running the water. "Alright, do you want Catherine here too? I'll stay because you'll need help getting in and out and everything."

Nick turned around to Greg, waiting for an answer. Greg shrugged his shoulders, unsure about what he wanted.

"Well, how about Catherine stays and if you want either of us to leave, just say. Yeah?" Nick suggested.

Catherine smiled at Greg, who nodded.

Nick turned off the water after checking that the temperature was just right.

"You need some help gettin' undressed?" Nick asked him.

Greg rubbed his jaw awkwardly. "Erm, yeah, please."

"Alrighty. There's no need to be shy, man. I know it's weird but it doesn't matter." Nick told him truthfully. He grabbed the bottom of Greg's t-shirt and started to pull it up.

Greg stopped Nick though, "I can't lift my right arm." He said.

Nick let the t-shirt drop back down, and then told Greg he would take his arms out of the top first.

Catherine helped Greg get his arm through.

Nick then pulled his top off and dropped it behind him onto the floor.

Catherine then unfastened the back brace around Greg's torso and lower back.

"You can unbutton your pants if you want? If you can't Catherine will do it, i'm sure."

Catherine replied "Yeah, of course."

Nick said he was just going to get another towel since there was only one in the bathroom.

Greg tried undoing the button on his pants but with only one hand, that was shaking, he was finding it difficult. He looked up to Catherine for help and without a word, she went over and helped him.

"Thanks." Greg told her.

"Don't mention it." She said, looking up to him with a smile.

Nick walked in with a large towel and hooked it onto the towel rack.

"Catherine could you get Greg's pants whilst I help him up please?" Nick asked her, already hooking his arm through Greg's.

"Ready? In three, one... two... three." Nick said, then grunted when he lifted Greg. He wasn't heavy, but he was in a difficult position to be picking someone up. Greg tried using his left arm to push up but it hardly helped because Greg was rather tired.

Catherine pulled his pants off, then told Greg she was taking his boxers off if that was okay, and Greg allowed her.

Nick lowered Greg down onto the toilet seat. Now he had to lift him again into the bath.

"I didn't really think this through as well as i'd thought..." Nick said scratching behind his head.

Greg grabbed the towel that Nick had previously brought in and covered his manhood with it.

Nick saw him, "Oh sorry man."

Greg smiled nervously, "It's fine."

Catherine broke the couple seconds of silence.

"I think you might have to pick him up bridal style." She said smiling to Nick, then to Greg who just looked at her back.

Nick nodded. "Come on then, let's get you in before the water goes cold."

"You ready?" He asked Greg, who nodded then shakily past Catherine the towel over him.

Nick picked him up and slowly put him in the bath. Greg arched his back.

"What's up?" Nick asked him concerned.

Greg hissed, "It just stings a little bit."

Nick continued to lower Greg into the bath, until he was totally in.

Greg reached his left arm out after Nick let go of him. He felt as though he were sliding in, under the water, and he couldn't stop it.

"Hey man, don't worry." Nick told him after Greg reached out and grabbed his arm.

Catherine knelt next to the tub and squirted some shower gel into her hand.

Greg told them that he wanted to get up, still clinging onto Nick's arm.

Nick helped him up into a sitting position. Greg grimaced.

"That hurt man?" Nick asked.

Greg nodded and tightly shut his eyes. "It'll go in a minute."

Catherine and Nick shared sympathetic looks with each other.

Greg opened his eyes not long after and looked down.

"You alright?" It was Catherine who asked him this time.

He nodded then picked his head up.

"I'm just going to give you a soft scrub with this, okay. Tell me if I hurt you." Catherine said holding up a nylon wash scrubber.

Again, Greg nodded.

Catherine gently began to apply the shower gel onto Greg's back and massage the scrubber onto it. A couple of times Greg flinched making water fly up the sides of the bath, but overall it was pretty much painless.

Catherine next shampooed Greg's hair and once she'd done, Greg could feel himself ready to drop off.

Nick had helped Greg out of the bath and he was again sat on the toilet seat lid, but now with a towel wrapped around him.

Greg was having his hair towel dried by Catherine and he winced a bit as she went over the new bump on his head.

Greg took the corner of the towel that was wrapped around him and wiped his eyes.

Nick saw him and wondered what was wrong. "Hey do you need some pain meds?"

Greg shook his head, "No, I don't need any thanks."

Catherine stood back, towel still in her hands as she wondered why Nick had asked.

"Okay, what's wrong then?"

Greg just looked down and said in a soft voice, "I'm just, embarrassed you know? You two, seeing, the whole package..." He said with a few pauses thinking about what he wanted to say.

Catherine chuckled at him, "Greg you have nothing to be embarrassed about, believe me!" She said then cracked up again.

Nick smiled at her laughing and then smiled at Greg who still looked a bit tense.

"Right, you need to get dressed and then we can go and watch some tv."

After quarter of an hour, all three sat in the lounge. Catherine and Greg on the sofa, and Nick in an armchair.

Catherine sighed and pushed herself up. "I'm afraid it's time for me to go boys."

Nick stood up with her, whilst Greg looked on at the tv.

"If it's okay with Nick i'll call around tomorrow, alright? Get feeling better." Catherine said to Greg, earning a pushed smile.

Catherine walked over to the door which Nick opened, "Is it okay if I drop by tomorrow?"

"Sure, of course. You're always welcome here." Nick said smiling at her.

Catherine hugged him and then shouted bye to Greg. He looked up but didn't say anything back, just smiled tightly at her then turned his attention back to the tv.

After seeing Catherine off, Nick shut the door and walked over to Greg.

"You want anything getting whilst i'm up?"

Greg looked up. "No, but thanks."

"No problem."

Nick plopped down next to Greg. "So, how you feeling?"

Greg glanced at Nick and shrugged his left shoulder.

"It helps to talk. It might not seem like it now, but trust me, I know it does."

Greg sighed. "I feel... pathetic."

"Why?" Nick questioned. Not wanting to push his friend.

Greg swallowed. "Because. I couldn't stop them guys from, doing what they did. I freak out whenever anyone comes near me or when there's a noise." He stopped for a moment.

"I can't even go to the bathroom by myself. I wet myself in front of two of my friends. I needed you and Catherine to bath me. You've both seen... everything I got! Oh yeah, and I threw up for no reason. So, that's why."

"Greg. You are not pathetic and none of them things make you pathetic. And you don't ever, ever think that okay?" Nick questioned but basically told Greg.

Greg welled up. "But" He sniffed, "I'm so scared that it's going to happen again and that there's nothing I can do. I'm useless!" Greg broke down and Nick pulled him into a deep hug, where Greg started sobbing into his shoulder.

"Now you listen here, you are not useless! Far from it. You're gonna get through this with all of us, your friends. We're all here for you."

Greg continued to cry into Nick's shoulder, making his t-shirt extremely wet. Nick felt for him, but like he said, they were all there for him. Especially himself.

**Sooooo, what do you think? Please leave a review so I know how to go about writing my next chapter. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review :)**


	8. No Rush

**Thanks for the reviews ****C.H.W.13**** , Sandra03 and ****Tracy79**** :) They mean so much to me, so I really appreciate you taking the time to review! ****Tracy79****- hopefully I'll have more time to update quicker so maybe in the near future chapters we may find out who these people are and why they hurt poor Greggo! Thanks again for the reviews, all three of you, I love you all so much! So, please enjoy this story whoever may read it, and if you can drop a review at the end :)**

**No Rush**

Russell rubbed the bridge of his nose, where his glasses had left small indentations. He placed his glasses on his desk and then picked up the file which was lying next to them.

_Name: Gregory Hojem Sanders_

_Sexual Assault; Medical examination shows rape_

_ Evidence of inappropriate touching _

_ Evidence of forced kissing_

Putting the file down, Russell just couldn't read on. His teammate, the youngest he had bar one, a man he considered a son, was attacked, no violated, and he just let it happen.

Of course, there was nothing he could have done to prevent the horrific ordeal that Greg had to suffer through.

"Hey D.B, I hate to say this but we've got nothing from the fingerprints in the restroom. The pubic hair we found was also a no go. And the surveillance had been tampered with by some master computer geek, so they cut the cameras before they even attempted to come inside." Sara said as she sat down in Russell's office.

"Aah" Russell said annoyed.

"It looks like we might need Greg to help us get an idea of who we should be looking out for." Sara said sounding defeated.

Sighing, Russell nodded. "I think you might be right."

Sara's phone began ringing.

"Sidle. Oh hey Nick. Yeah. Oh gosh, I hope she's okay. Sure, that's fine. Do you want me to come pick him up? Alright, bye."

Sara hung up her phone and slid it into her pocket.

"That was Nick, his sister's in hospital. He's dropping Greg off here so that he can go and see her. If he's alright to do that?" Sara questioned.

Russell nodded, "Of course yeah."

Sara smiled, "I thought you'd say that but Nick just wanted me to check with you. I know, it's not ideal having Greg here, but Catherine's at home and Nick really needs to head off so is dropping Greg off on his way."

"Is it a good idea to have Greg here? It's been a few days since he was… attacked in this very building." Russell said with an unsure face.

Sara sighed, "No it's not a good idea, but it's our only option right now. Apparently Catherine told Nick that she would head to the lab and would be here in about an hour. Maybe she could take him home?" She suggested.

"Yeah. Maybe." Russell said, and then put his glasses back on.

"Greg I'm sorry to have to do this, but I need to leave you for a bit. My sister's in hospital and it's gonna' be a while until my Mom or anyone else can get there to see her, so I kinda need to go." Nick said apologetically.

Greg had only just woke up and was a bit taken back by Nick barging into the room he was sleeping in, whilst he was still asleep.

"Er, okay."

"I know it's unfair to drop this on you but I don't know how bad she is or anything; she was in a car accident. All I know is that I'll be the first one who can get to her." Nick said rushed, whilst getting Greg some clothes out of the wardrobe and drawers in the room.

Greg took a minute to register everything Nick had said. "Nick it's fine. Don't bother about me I'll sort myself out, go and get to your sister." He said, gently pushing himself up, pulling a pained face as he used his right arm.

Nick smiled, "You're too kind man, but you only just got out of the hospital a few days ago. I think you need some looking after too. I rang Catherine to see if she could drop by but she's at her Mom's so she won't be here any time soon. So Sara is going to meet you at the lab when I drop you off, if that's okay?" Nick asked.

Greg nodded.

"Okay. Let's get you changed then."

"Hey, thanks for doing this. I'm sorry it's such short notice." Nick said as he quickly set up Greg's wheelchair.

Sara opened Greg's door. "It's fine."

"Hey Greg, looks like you're stuck with me for a while!" Sara said chirpily.

Greg did a fake laugh, not really catching what Sara just said, too engrossed with the building which now held horrible memories.

Sara noticed this and decided to wait for Nick to leave until she talked more with Greg.

"Thanks again Sara. And Greg I'm sorry for all this, but I'll make up for it with a good steak later."

Both Greg and Sara smiled and said bye to Nick.

Nick got in his Denali and drove off hastily.

Sara began to push Greg towards the building but stopped when Greg put his left hand on the left wheel.

"You okay?" Sara asked as she walked round the front of the chair to face Greg.

His eyes were fixated on the lab in front of him, and when Sara rubbed his arm, he looked at her scared. His eyes were flitting from the lab to Sara.

Sara pushed Greg over to the side of the building where there was a bench.

"What's wrong? You know I won't let anything happen to you." Sara said softly, taking Greg's hand in hers, offering much needed courage.

Greg swallowed and then took a shaking breath. "I don't want to go in."

"I know you don't, and we can wait until you're ready. There's no rush and nobody's expecting you to rush." She told him correctly.

Greg nodded and blinked a few times, trying to hold himself together.

After just sitting outside in silence for ten minutes, Greg spoke again.

"I'm sorry. If you want to go in you can."

Sara shook her head, "Now why would I want to do that if you're still out here?"

Greg shrugged slightly and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Are you tired?" Sara asked him.

Greg nodded. "Yeah, I was sleeping before I had to come here."

Sara smiled sympathetically, "How about we go inside and you can crash in the break room? Or I bet Russell would let you stay in his office?"

Greg looked at her sadly, "No."

"No?" Sara asked him softly.

Greg shook his head. "I can't go in there. What, what if they come back?" He asked with a shaky voice, and then turned around so Sara could see the fright and tears in his eyes.

Sara's heart went out to him, "They won't Greg. They wouldn't dare try anything like that here again."

"But they did the first time." Greg said scared.

"I know, but believe me, whilst you're here; someone will be with you all the time so if by any chance they managed to get in again, nothing would happen to you." Sara said rubbing his hand.

Greg shook his head. "I still don't want to go in."

"Okay, that's fine. But you know one day, you're sort of gonna' have to. We can't manage without you in there." Sara said smiling.

Greg looked up at her and smiled slightly, "What am I going to do?"

Sara looked straight into his eyes, "You're going to go in there and prove to yourself that you can do it, and that you're not going to let those men bother you anymore."

Greg swallowed and looked down. "Sara, I don't know if I can."

"You can Greg, I know you can. I've never been so sure of anything."

Greg wiped his eyes gently, taking his hand from Sara's.

He was just about to say something but just then Russell came out.

"Hey Greg. What's wrong are you okay?" He asked, seeing Greg's pink rimmed eyes.

Greg sniffed, "Yeah, just building up some suspense before I go inside." He joked.

Russell chuckled at Greg. "Yeah, this is a pretty big step so soon, huh?"

Greg nodded slowly. "Yep."

Sara grabbed his hand again.

"But, we can do this. Together." She said and smiled confidently to both Greg and Russell.

Greg smiled at her, "Thanks. Let's go."

Sara pulled her neck back, "Are you sure? Like I said, there's no rush."

"Yeah, I'm sure. If I don't do it now, it will just get worse." Greg said a little bit sadly.

Russell spoke up, "Well, we best get heading inside then."

Taking one deep breath, they all entered the lab.

"See, this isn't too bad is it?" Sara asked Greg as she pushed him through the halls of the lab.

Greg shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. It really wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, yet he still couldn't help but think of the worst.

Going into the break room where Morgan was, it was a bit awkward for Greg since he hadn't really been in amazing shape when he last saw her.

"Hey Morgan, we've got someone to see you." Russell said, which made Morgan look over.

"Greg!" She exclaimed. "You're out and about already?" She said surprised.

"Mmh hmm, I don't like to sit around." Greg told her with a smile.

"I'm glad you're here, I actually wanted to talk to you." Morgan said as she moved to the sofa, where Greg was near.

Greg looked at her intrigued, "Well, now's your chance!"

Morgan looked up to Sara and Russell, "Is there any way I can talk to Greg alone, please?"

Sara looked to Russell, "Of course, we need to get back to work anyway. Just call me when you need to." She said to Greg.

"I will." Greg said with a small smile.

Morgan waited until Russell and Sara had left the room before she spoke to Greg.

"So how are you? You look better already."

"I'm alright, glad to be out of the hospital." Greg said.

Morgan frowned, "What was wrong in the hospital?"

"Oh, nothing was wrong. I'm just, not the hospital kind you know? I don't like being dependant on other people." Greg said honestly.

"Yeah, I know." Morgan said. "Look, I want to apologise about dashing off at the hospital the other day. I shouldn't have left so hastily."

Greg waved his hand, "Don't worry about it, I was half out of it anyway."

"No Greg, that's not the point. You're my friend and I care about you. And friends don't just ditch each other like that. I didn't even realise what I'd done until Nick followed me out. "

"What did Nick say?" A worried Greg asked. What if he had told her that he liked her?

"He told me that I'd said about two words to you and that you were more important than whatever else I had gone to do. And you are. You have no idea how much you mean to me." Morgan expressed, taking Greg's hand in hers, much like Sara had previously done.

Greg smiled, "Huh, well you mean a lot to me too."

Morgan smiled. "This probably isn't the best thing I've ever done, or at the best time, but, I just want you to know… I have a little, well, a big, thing for you. You're the one who made me feel welcome here, the one who has become my best friend, even though we haven't known each other for that long. When I'm with you, I just, I wish we were more than just friends."

Greg couldn't help but laugh. "Are you serious?"

Morgan laughed a little bit too, "Well, yeah."

"Morgan, I can't believe this. I don't know if you knew, but I've sort of had a crush on you ever since you came here." Greg said overjoyed.

Morgan giggled, "No I didn't." She smiled broadly, "So, you wanna' go out sometime?"

Greg suddenly lost the smile which had been plastered over his face.

"I don't think we should."

Morgan was taken back, "What, why?" She asked, sharper with him than she intended.

Greg looked at her, "Morgan, look at me. I don't think you should be going out with me when you can get someone a lot better." He said seriously.

Morgan stared at Greg, her mouth slightly agape. "No, it makes no difference to me that you're in a wheelchair or anything like that. You still look the same, act the same, and have the same certain body parts…" She expressed with a cheeky smile and a wink.

Greg looked around nervously, and then spoke quietly. "No." Was all he said, whilst shaking his head slightly.

"Greg, I don't understand." Morgan told him in a quiet voice. For some reason she felt she had to be quiet because he was.

Greg sighed, "I won't be able to do things like that. I won't be able to… perform." Greg said his eyes now downcast.

Morgan's eyes wondered, "Why not? Greg I really want this to happen with us."

Greg looked at her with teary eyes, but then looked down sharply and rubbed his eyes.

"You know what; just tell me to shut the hell up. I have no right." Morgan said as she got ready to stand up.

Greg reached out to touch her, "No, Morgan. You've no idea how much I want this to work, but… with my legs like this, I won't be able to give you everything you want."

Morgan shook her head, "But you can give me everything I need. If things don't work out, you'll still be the bestest friend I'll ever have." She replied happily.

Greg looked up at her and smiled.

"Okay. Let's do it."

**What do you think? Please leave a review so I know how to go about writing my next chapter. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review :)**


	9. Moving Forwards Or Backwards?

**Wow, thank you very much for your lovely reviews, ****C.H.W.13****, Sandra03, ****greggo123**** and ****Tracy79****, they are greatly appreciated *huge grin*! Hopefully you're all enjoying this story so far, and I'd love for you to check out my other stories if you have some spare time. Thank you for reading and please enjoy!**

**Moving Forwards Or Backwards?**

Hearing a cough at the door to the break room, both Morgan and Greg turned around.

"Hey guys. Greg I need to have a quick chat with you." Russell said.

Greg nodded and spun his head back around, since he was looking back over his shoulder to see who had come to the door.

He attempted to wheel himself back away from the sofa but found it difficult with only one fully functioning arm. His right one still had very limited movement.

"Hey. Let me help you!" Morgan said jumping up out of her seat to help.

"Thanks." Greg said turning around to flash her his gorgeous smile which she hadn't seen on him in a while.

Morgan returned his smile equally as happy. For the past half hour, she and Greg had been talking about anything and everything, both engrossed in their new relationship.

"Where do you wanna' talk?" Greg asked when he was in front of Russell.

Russell waved his hand for Greg to follow and before he even put his arm down to attempt to push himself, Morgan was already behind him, pushing him down the hallway.

Once they were inside Russell's office, Morgan left and told Greg that she'd see him later, with a little wink which made Greg smile.

As he sat down behind his desk, Russell smiled too. "You two got a little thing going on I don't know about?" He asked with slightly raised eyebrows.

Greg smiled again, "Er, well, I dunno what you'd call it. She, er, kinda' asked me if I wanted to go out with her." Greg told him, stammering his words awkwardly, feeling a tad weird sharing this information with Russell.

He whistled and then smiled at Greg. "I'm not surprised; I've been waiting for her to make a move. So, what did you say?" Russell enquired.

Greg tried to act as natural as he could because he knew that he was blushing; turning a bright yet deep red.

"Well, I told her yeah." Greg said, ducking his head to avoid Russell's huge grin.

"That's great Greg. Just remember she's Ecklie's daughter so make sure you look after her." Russell warned.

Greg nodded, "I'll do my best."

Russell smiled knowingly. But then his face changed to a more sullen look which Greg didn't like.

"I know it's soon but we've collected all the evidence we can and we're no nearer to finding the people who did this to you. It looks like we may need you to describe them to us. If you're up to that?" Russell asked as tentatively as he could.

Greg nodded, "Yeah, I can do that."

After a couple of seconds Russell spoke again. "Alright, but if you don't want to that's understandable. I just wanted you to know that we'll probably need your help." He explained.

Again, Greg nodded. "Didn't you get anything from what you collected?" He asked with hopeful eyes.

Russell shook his head, "I'm sorry Greg, they're not in the system."

Greg cast his eyes down.

Changing the topic, Russell asked Greg a question. "So, how's it going at Nick's?"

"Good. Good. I don't want to sound ungrateful but I just wish I was at my own place though." Greg told him honestly.

Russell frowned. "Why?"

Greg shrugged his good shoulder. "I just want some privacy now you know. To be able to do things on my own. And now that me and Morgan are closer I want to spend some time with her on my own."

Russell smiled. "Soon enough you'll be back to that if you want to be, but right now I think staying with Nick is just what you need. Have you had all your tests done at the hospital now?"

"What do you mean?" Greg asked him confused. What tests?

"To see if you have any sexually transmitted infections or diseases." Russell clarified.

Greg's heart plummeted. He hadn't thought of those. What if he did have an infection? What if he did have a disease? What if-

"Oh my god, what if I have HIV or something? What am I meant to do?" Greg asked panicked. His breathing had increased and his palms had become sweaty.

"Now Greg calm down. I shouldn't have said anything. You're probably fine otherwise they would have kept you in the hospital for longer, right? You've got nothing to worry about." Russell said to try and help the distressed man in front of him.

Greg nodded, not really believing Russell. "Can you help me go outside please? I need some air."

"Of course." With this Russell stood and he pushed Greg down the hallway he had been down just minutes ago.

"You going to be alright on your own?" Russell asked once they were outside. Greg had asked to be alone, and Russell had looked over his shoulder whilst pushing him out and saw him text Morgan to meet him out there.

Greg nodded, "Yeah, thanks." He said with a small smile.

"Okay, I'm just a phone call away if you need me." Russell said with his own smile before he went back inside, going past Morgan on his way.

"Hey Greg. I know we said we'd go out some time but when I'm at work!" Morgan came out and joked with him.

Greg tried to smile but when he did, Morgan knew something wasn't right. His smile didn't reach his eyes like it did earlier.

She came up closer to Greg and luckily there was a bench near enough next to him.

"What's wrong?" Morgan questioned with a concerned expression.

Greg looked her in the eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat. Well, attempted to. This was going to be hard.

"I know we only just arranged this but, I... We can't go out. I think it's best we stay just friends."

It pained Greg to see Morgan looking so disappointed, upset and heartbroken.

"But Greg, I thought you wanted to give it a go?" She questioned, trying to keep her composure.

"Yeah, I did, do. Just we can't." Greg told her, keeping his eyes trained on her the whole time.

Morgan shook her head, "I can't believe you Greg. I know this must be hard for you but you sound like you're not even willing to try."

"Because I don't know how this will end out. I want to make sure we're still good friends, like we are now. I don't want to risk all this." Greg explained the best he could. What he was saying to her was true, and he truly believed he got caught in the moment and jumped ahead too soon. Now, he had all these new worries of some sort of horrible diseases that he may have and he cared too much for Morgan to possibly give them to her too.

"If that's how you feel then fine." Morgan stated bluntly.

Greg now looked down. "Please Morgan; don't let this change things between us." He told her quietly.

Morgan stood up. "I think it already has." She said coldly.

As she started to walk back into the building Greg tried to follow her, but could hardly move his chair anywhere.

"Morgan, please wait. Please." He begged, but there was no use. Morgan had already gone inside and the door shut behind her.

Greg was left outside alone.

"I must have read your mind. What is it you need?" Russell asked as he rejected Greg's call, having already gotten outside before Greg had rung him.

Greg's head snapped up. "Well, this is awkward but, is there any chance someone could run me home?"

"Why do you need to go home?" Russell asked him.

Greg looked away for a second. "I need to use the bathroom."

Greg had been outside for over half an hour since Morgan went inside and needed some time alone to think and hold himself together. Since his attack, he seemed to have trouble controlling his bladder, so the need to pee came on suddenly and harsh.

"Alright, I'll take you. Do you have a key?" Russell said.

Greg felt around in his pockets until he found what he was looking for. "Yeah, thanks to Catherine."

"Then let's go."

At Greg's house, Russell first admired its size, much like Catherine did.

"Greg your house is fantastic. My wife would love a house like this."

Greg laughed awkwardly. Right now all he needed was to use the bathroom.

Russell saw Greg was uncomfortable and quickly turned his attention back to Greg.

"So do you have a downstairs toilet?" Russell enquired.

Greg nodded to him, "Yeah, just down there."

Russell pushed Greg down the hallway until Greg told him where to stop.

"What does Nick do, go in there with you?" Russell asked casually.

For Greg he felt awkward that he needed his boss to help him go to the toilet.

"Er, yeah, but you don't have to." He said nervously.

Russell smiled. "Greg I mean this in the nicest way, but you can't manage on your own yet. Just relax a bit. I don't mind helping out."

Greg smiled and looked down again. "I can't help it. It's just weird."

"I know it is. But it's fine. You trust me right?" Russell asked softly.

Greg blinked plenty of times because tears were building in his eyes. "I don't really wanna' trust anyone right now you know. I can't."

Russell nodded. "That's understandable. But you have my word Greg, you can trust me."

But even then, Greg still couldn't. Would he be able to trust anyone again?


	10. Progress

**Thank you ****Tracy79**** and ****Marymel**** for your reviews! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and leave a review if you have the time :)**

**Progress**

"Hey Catherine." Russell said as he moved out of the way of the door to let her inside Nick's house.

She smiled to him, "Hey."

Russell shut the door. "I didn't realize you'd be here so quickly. Greg's sat in there."

Catherine began talking as she walked to where Greg was. "I was on my way to the lab, but then I got your text so I was half way here already."

"Hey Greg." She said as she sat down on the sofa near him.

Greg looked up to her tiredly and smiled.

Catherine reached over and grabbed his hand. "What's wrong? You don't look too good."

"I just have a little bit of a headache." Greg said quietly.

"Is there anything I can do for you? Get you anything?" Catherine asked him kindly.

But Greg shook his head slightly.

"Okay, I'll leave you alone then." Catherine said to him with a smile, which he returned, before she got up and went over to DB in Nick's kitchen.

D.B. was sat reading a newspaper and smiled when Catherine sat next to him.

"How did you get in here? I didn't think Greg had a key?" Catherine inquired.

"He didn't. We went to his house first and we got one from there. Apparently he and Nick exchanged their keys with each other after Greg was beaten up or something?"

Catherine nodded and looked around the wall to see if Greg was asleep.

"Yeah, not too long back, Greg went out on his first solo case and on his way to the scene he saw this man being beaten up. And Greg being the kind of person he is tried to help him. However, this gang turned to him and they pulled him from his Denali and started on him." Catherine told him.

Russell shook his head, "Poor guy, he didn't deserve that."

Catherine raised her eyebrows. "I know. And to top it all off, the department made it look like Greg was guilty for hitting one of the gang members with his car."

"No way. That's out of line. Did the person survive?" Russell questioned. He was shocked that he'd never heard of any of this before.

Catherine shook her head. "No. The family tried to sue him and that's how they got over a million dollars."

Russell looked flabbergasted. "Over a million? What did Greg do?"

Catherine shrugged. "I think he took it pretty hard you know. I mean he was quite young at the time so it must have been horrific to deal with. He tried his best to act normal but he wasn't the same for a while. He was so cautious when he was driving it was unreal and he didn't stick around to talk after shift or come out with us all for drinks like he used it. It took something away from him."

Russell looked sad. "Well he had you lot with him, I'm sure that helped."

Catherine smiled. "Yeah, I'd like to think so."

Just then Nick came home. "Hey Greg, how you doing?" Catherine and Russell heard him ask.

"Not bad." Greg's sleepy reply was.

Catherine and Russell made their way into where both gentlemen were.

"How's your sister?" Greg asked, shuffling up straighter in his chair, waking himself up.

Nick sighed frustrated. "She's fine. A bit of whiplash and that's it. I'll tell you now; I was not impressed when she told me she was fine."

"At least she's okay." Catherine said to him with a smile.

Nick smiled too, "Yeah, thank God."

"Does anybody wanna go out for some food? Or I can order in a Chinese for us all?" Nick asked.

"I really should get back to work. I'm glad your sister's okay Nick and Greg, I'll see you soon." Russell said as he headed over to the door.

"Make that two of us." Catherine said as she went to Greg and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

She then went to Nick and rubbed his arms before she followed Russell outside.

"Russell!" Nick shouted. He continued speaking when Russell turned around.

"When do you want me in?"

Russell waved his hand, "I'll call you. It won't be anytime soon."

Nick nodded and waved both him and Catherine off.

Shutting his door, he turned around to talk to Greg.

"You up for a Chinese? We can go out?" He asked as he sat down on his sofa.

Greg rubbed his eyes. "Can we order a Chinese? I don't feel like going out."

Nick nodded, "Sure man. Were you alright at the lab?"

"It wasn't too bad." Greg told him. He was still upset about how things went with Morgan but figured they would both be apart from each other for some time so when they saw each other again, hopefully things would have blown over.

"Good. Right I'm just going to get some menus. I'll be right back." He said with a smile.

When Nick returned, Greg didn't look at the menu. He needed to tell Nick something.

"Nick?"

Nick's head snapped up. "Yeah?"

"Can I tell you something?"

"Of course man, whatever you want." Nick said, giving him his full attention by putting his menu down on the table in front of him and turning to face Greg.

Greg licked his lips nervously. "It's about what happened. I... I think I know who one of the people was."

Nick looked shocked. "That's great man. Who was it?"

"Demetrius James' brother."

"What? No, are you sure?" Nick asked in disbelief.

Greg nodded. "I think so. I didn't realize until earlier when I heard Catherine talking to Russell about when I was beat up. Now, I'm almost sure he was one of them."

"That's great man, I'll ring Brass and he can bring him in." Nick said excitedly, already taken his phone out of his pocket.

However, Greg reached out and put his hand on Nick's arm.

"Do you have to...? Can't you wait until there's evidence?" He asked nervously.

Nick frowned. "I thought Russell told you, there was no useful evidence that we can use. So, this is the best we got."

Greg took his hand off Nick's arm but still looked nervous.

"What's up? If you know it was him Greg he can be locked away."

"I killed his brother. People will think I'm just saying it was him and they won't believe me."

Nick knew where he was coming from, but there was no way he was going to run the risk of Greg getting hurt again or anybody else.

"Greg, I gotta' tell Brass man. He's guilty."

Greg nodded. "I won't have to go to court any time will I?" He asked worriedly.

Nick sighed. "I'm not going to lie. There's a chance you may have to. The evidence we have is to a minimum so you're the best thing we have right now. Sorry man."

Greg did a small smile. "I shoulda' guessed really, right?"

Nick smiled back, "Well, you know how this stuff goes. Anyway, get looking what you want; you need to get a bit of meat on you." He said to Greg with a friendly, soft punch to his shoulder as he walked away to make the call.

Finally they were getting somewhere.

**Please review if you have something to say, good or bad! :)**


	11. Help From Sara

**Thank you very much for your reviews ****C.H.W.13**, **Marymel** **and ****Tracy79**** :) I sincerely apologise for my extremely slow updates, there's no excuse except my laziness, so again I'm ever so sorry. This chapter contains some bad language, so I hope it doesn't put some people off. Here's the next chapter, my longest one ever! And please review to let us know what you think, good or bad!**

**Help From Sara**

Nick was awoken by noise coming from the room Greg was staying in. It sounded like Greg was saying something, but it was muffled through the walls, so Nick decided to go and check to make sure his friend was alright.

As he walked down the hall, he could hear the odd word, "No...Stop."

Just then it clicked that Greg was more than likely having a nightmare. He'd had his own after being buried alive and new first hand they weren't pleasant.

And he was right. Greg was moving his head from side to side with his hands up near his head in a protective way. And his legs were shuffling slightly under the covers, but not really moving far.

"Hey Greg, wake up." Nick said softly as he sat by Greg's side on the bed. He gently put his hands on Greg's forearm and pulled it down slightly away from his head and face.

"It's alright, it's Nick. It's me buddy." He said when Greg screwed his eyes shut even tighter when his arm was moved. Tears shined along his face from the light Nick had left on in the hall which had brightened Greg's room up enough for him to be able to see everything.

Greg begged in his sleep, "Please..." he repeated over and over in a quiet, childlike voice. He nuzzled his head into the pillows as far as he could, trying to escape the horrors in his head.

Nick shook him by his shoulder. "Greg... Greg!" He shouted sharply hoping it would snap him back into reality.

Greg's eyes shot open and he lied where he was for a moment before looking around and spotting Nick.

"You alright, man? I think you had a bad dream, am I right?" Nick asked him with a smile as he sat further back, letting Greg properly wake up.

Greg slowly worked his way up into a sitting position and wiped his eyes. "Yeah."

Nick nodded knowingly. "They stop after a while. It just takes some time."

"I know." Greg told him. "Thanks for getting me up."

Nick smiled, "Don't mention it. You wanna talk about it?"

After swallowing Greg looked at Nick with sad eyes. "It was Aaron James. He was in that gang when they beat me up." He sighed.

"I know he wasn't really there all those years ago, but now I know he did this... I just ended up picturing him then as well."

"Well I've got some good news; Brass has him down at the station right now. Just got the message." Nick told him with his phone in hand.

Greg just nodded.

Nick tilted his head. "What's up? I thought you'd be a little happier about that." He said to Greg.

Greg sighed. "I am. I'm just worried at the same time."

Nick studied his friend. The poor guy looked like he'd had no sleep at all. "What time did you actually get to sleep?"

"Not too long ago I don't think. I woke up before I did just now. It's hard to sleep."

"Well try and get some more sleep, and don't worry about anything, okay? Now we've got him, we can get the others." Nick told him, trying to reassure him.

'Mmh' Greg mumbled. Just as Nick was about to leave he spoke again, very quietly.

"Nick" Nick turned around and looked at Greg with a smile.

"Yeah?"

Greg looked down. "It doesn't matter, sorry."

Nick walked back over to him and sat on the bed. "What? Go on." He coaxed.

Greg coughed and looked away. "Could you leave this door open please and a light on... You don't have to, I shouldn't have said anything." He said and lifted his head back up.

Nick laughed which made Greg look at him.

"Don't be stupid of course I can. You should have said sooner." Nick said.

"I don't want to bother you anymore than I am."

"Woah, man you're not bothering me." Nick told him, that's the last thing he wanted Greg to feel like, like he was in the way or bothering Nick.

Greg didn't believe him. "Can't be much fun babysitting a 37 year old."

"It's not babysitting man, just two friends hanging out." Nick said. He really didn't want Greg talking like this, Nick was ecstatic that Greg would be staying with him.

Greg pulled a face. "Would two friends hanging out have to go to the bathroom with each other because one of them can't do it themselves? No they wouldn't. Would two friends hanging out have one of them running around everywhere after the other one? No. So don't even try saying that because I know we're not just hanging out." He said with a slight anger that Nick had never seen before.

Nick shook his head. "Greggo-"

"Don't call me that! You think calling me that will change anything? Stop trying to make me feel better, 'cause I feel like shit and you can't change that!" Greg yelled at him.

Nick was shocked. This was not the Greg he knew. He would never blow up like this, especially not to himself.

"Calm down. I know it's hard but it'll get easier." Nick told Greg, still keeping his cool even though Greg had lost it.

Greg threw the quilt off himself with his left arm. "You do not know! You don't know what any of this is like!"

"Okay so maybe I don't know what it's like, but I know what it's like to feel helpless."

Greg glared at him angrily. "You think I'm helpless? Fuck you Nick."

Nick's own fury was beginning to build inside of him. He wasn't bothered about what was being said to him before but that just tipped him over the edge.

"What the hell Greg? I never even said that." He said wide eyed.

Greg had managed to get into a sitting position again on the bed by now and was still looking angry. "Leave me alone, I'm going to get changed."

Nick laughed. "Leave you alone? How the hell are you going to get out of bed yourself, never mind getting dressed!"

This hit Greg hard and he felt himself tearing up, but at the same time Nick just infuriated him more.

"Fuck you Nick!" He shouted for the second time. "Fuck you, fuck your help, and fuck me staying with you. I don't need you! Just let me change and I won't bother you again." Greg said, his anger radiating off of him.

Nick shook his head. "Fine, if that's what you want. But don't even bother asking me for help in the future alright. You can struggle on your own." Nick said as he stood up. His jaw was locked sturdy in position and all his muscles tensed. He slammed the door on his way out, leaving Greg's room in total darkness.

As soon as he was out the room, Nick stormed into his kitchen to get himself a drink. He poured himself a glass of water with the tap on full blast, making water spray everywhere as it filled the glass. This just added to Nick's annoyance and he brought the glass down with such a force it was a surprise it didn't smash. He thumped his hand down on his work surface but it did nothing to calm him down. After pacing the kitchen a few times he went and sat down on his sofa and absentmindedly turned his TV on, onto some baseball. At that moment he didn't even care.

Greg reached over in the dark to find his phone; he scrambled around with his hand on the table and began to panic when he couldn't find it. He never thought he'd be scared of the dark, but this latest incident had shaken him up in more ways than he could imagine.

He breathed a huge sigh of relief once he'd grabbed onto his phone and immediately turned the torch on, illuminating the whole room. Luckily his wheelchair was next to his bed so he slowly inched his way to the side of his bed and positioned the chair where he wanted it. He lent down and made sure the brakes were on.

Bracing his left hand on the bed he grabbed the wheelchair tentatively with his right and placed his hand on it. His right arm still hurt but he had better mobility in it now, making some simple tasks a little bit easier.

_One. Two. Three. _Greg told himself, and then pushed with all his might as he shuffled across in to the chair. He made it to the chair but not without paying the price. After putting so much weight on it, his right arm felt like it was on fire. But he held in a yelp of pain. There was no way he was going to make Nick go back in there.

After a few long breaths, Greg released the brakes, went to turn the light on and rolled his way to the chest of draws across the room and pulled out a dark blue shirt. Staying where he was he pulled his left arm out of his t-shirt quite easily and then ducked his head out of it, so that it could come off his right arm without him hardly having to use it. Next, he used his left hand to help pull the sleeve of the fresh shirt onto his right arm, before pulling it round so that he could put his left arm in the sleeve also. Greg buttoned up the shirt with one hand and left a few buttons from the top undone.

The next challenge was taking off his pants that he'd slept in; a pair of light grey joggers. Usually he'd sleep in a pair of boxers but decided to wear something else because he was staying with Nick. First he fished out some underwear and a pair of jeans to slip into. He clenched his right hand into a fist and kept releasing it, trying to get it used to moving. After repeating that for a minute, Greg lent to the left in his chair and lifted himself up the best he could. His face screwed up in pain as soon as he moved his right hand to pull his bottom wear off. Once it was down by his knees though, he dropped back down into his seat and used his left arm to pull them all the way off.

Grabbing his underwear, he chucked his joggers and the underwear he just took off onto the floor, then pulled the fresh up as far as he could. Then, he had to lean to the left again, and his right hand was left to do the work. It took a while, but the pain didn't seem as bad this time, so his underwear was up reasonably quickly. He next did the same thing with his jeans, and he would have smiled at himself for doing it so quickly, but after his argument with Nick he was in absolutely no mood to smile.

He quickly put a brush through his hair, but it didn't do much really, although his hair looked fine to start with. He grabbed his phone and keys, put it on his lap and opened his bedroom door.

Nick heard a door then the click of a light switch and turned slightly to see Greg rolling down towards him.

"I didn't think you'd manage to get changed on your own." Nick stated simply. His anger had boiled down by now, and so had Greg's but both men weren't prepared to let go of what happened earlier.

Greg rolled behind the sofa where Nick sat still. "Like I said, I don't need you." Was all he said, matching Nick's tone.

Nick watched him as he made his way to the door. "Where you going?"

"Somewhere." Greg replied. In truth, he didn't really know where he was going but he wasn't staying there any longer.

"You wanna' be a bit more specific?" Nick asked him annoyed.

Greg's head spun around. "I don't know Nick, I'm just going out." He then cautiously went out the door and down the small step that was outside of it.

Nick got up off the sofa. "If you have an emergency call me if you have to." He called after Greg who was just starting to leave Nick's drive.

"I won't." Greg said and he didn't even look back.

Nick debated going after him but chose not to. He'd had enough for one night and it was now early in the morning. He shut the door and sat down, just like he had done earlier.

Greg had been out for just over twenty minutes and found himself gradually getting closer to his house. He'd got some funny looks, probably because he still had plenty of bruises on him, along with a few cuts and scrapes, and he was sweating from the heat and using his arm so much. It was taking a lot out of him, but he refused to call Nick.

Stopping for a moment, he tried to get his breath back which he didn't even know he'd lost. But all his focus was on a group of men which were on the corner of a street.

He was now out of Nick's neighbourhood and in one which he wished he wasn't. He'd been through it multiple times; when he'd cut through or gone out to one of many crime scenes that were there.

His nerves had started to show and his hands were shaking badly. For a minute he sat there and thought about what to do, but once the group began to walk in his direction, his decision was quickly made.

Trying to look normal, he went forward then turned into a small alley which cut through to another part of the same neighbourhood. As fast as he tried to go, he was struggling. The ground was rough and his chair would hardly move along it. He could hear the men just around the corner and prayed that they weren't going to go down the alley.

But luck still wasn't on Greg's side. As they came up behind him, he tried to go faster and even used his right arm, even though the pain was near enough unbearable. He kicked himself for not taking his meds before he left Nick's.

"Hey hot wheels, where you goin' in such a rush?" One of the group members said to him.

He glanced around nervously. He didn't answer just turned back and tried to get going again.

"You want a hand?" He was asked, whether by the same man or a different one. They walked past him and stood in front of him.

Greg shook his head. "N- No. I can do it." He told them, but his voice was quiet and shaky.

The guys looked at each other. "Alright." The one in the middle said, and they all moved to the sides of the alley to let Greg through.

Greg looked down and started yet again to push himself forward. Well, try to anyway. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move. _Why can't I move?_ He asked himself.

He looked around his chair and then he saw one of the men holding onto his chair at the back.

Greg felt the fear rising when they laughed and then he realised that he needed to pee. He just hoped he could hold on long enough until he got to his house.

"What happened to you?" The same guy who had spoken to him earlier asked.

"N- Nothing." Greg said and he suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe. He was taking huge breaths of air but nothing seemed to enter his lungs.

"Why you so scared?" The same man asked him. He put his hand on Greg's shoulder hard and Greg gasped in pain.

"P- Please leave me alone." Greg begged with them, tears were creeping into his eyes and he was finding it hard to keep them away.

The gang smiled. "Fine, you don't want our help... We'll leave you alone. In a minute." Greg looked up to the man questioningly and was met with a fist to his face.

His head flew back and blood started to drip from his nose. The impact had made him jump so much all bladder control had left him, and he hoped the gang wouldn't notice that he had wet himself because he was so scared.

"You got problems dude." One of them said and then he was thrown out of his chair as someone tilted it forward and pushed him out. He landed face down and the left side of his face was covered in dirt, just like the left side of his body.

One of the men said something then attention was drawn back to Greg. "You piss yourself? Huh? You're disgusting." Someone said when they saw the wet wheelchair seat.

Greg just wanted to close in on himself to make it all end and much to his relief the men began to walk off once they'd chucked his wheelchair half way down the other end of the alley. But one man lingered and spat on Greg's face before kicking him in his crotch.

Greg couldn't move when they'd gone. Whether it was shock or pain he stayed face down in the dirt and let rivers of tears fall. _How could this happen? What had he done to deserve this? It hadn't even been a week since his... attack, and then this. It wasn't fair._

Trying to compose himself he pushed up with his left arm and leaned against the wall near him. He reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out. He shakily found the contact he was looking for and waited, hoping the person would answer.

It took a few rings but then, _"Hey Greg."_

"_S- Sara... I..."_

"_Greg what's wrong? Are you okay?"_

"_I need you. Are you busy?"_

"_No I'm not."_

Greg let out a sob.

"_Greg... what's the matter? Is Nick there?"_

"_No. Please come and get me. I'm on my own and I don't like it. Please come and get me..." _ He pleaded with her.

"_Hey, I'm coming okay. Calm down, everything's going to be okay. Where are you?"_

"_Err, Tamer Street. I'm down an alley. Please hurry Sara."_

"_I'll be there as fast as I can. Are you hurt?"_

"_No... Where are you? How long are you going to be?"_

"_I'm about two minutes away. Can you tell me what's happened?"_

Greg cried into the phone which was all bloody from his hand which he used to wipe the blood from his nose that was still bleeding.

"_Nothing happened. I just need you to come and get me."_

"_Okay, okay. I'm just around the corner okay?"_

"_Mmh hmm." _

Ten seconds later Sara rounded the corner with a shocked, "Oh my God" when she saw Greg and rushed down next to him.

"Sara!" Greg said happily and sadly at the same time. He began to break into tears and Sara sat on the floor next to him and pulled him into a warm embrace.

"It's okay, I'm here." Sara soothed to him. "Calm down, you're okay."

Greg didn't respond, just sobbed into her jacket.

Sara sat with him like that for five minutes. Neither of them making a move to get up.

Greg pulled away from her but grabbed onto her hand tightly.

"What happened to your face Greg?" Sara asked. His nose had actually stopped bleeding on its own but blood trailed down past his chin and down to his chest.

Greg swallowed deeply. "These people..." He began but got cut off by his own tears.

"Shush, it's okay. They're gone now and I'm going to take you back to Nick's house so that we can clean you up."

Greg was shaking his head. "No Sara, I don't want to go back there. Please can you take me to my house? I have a key." He told her picking it up and showing it to her.

"Nick needs to know where you are Greg. He'll be worrying about you."

"No he won't. Please just take me to my house and I'll leave you alone. That's all I ask."

Sara sighed. She really didn't want to but couldn't say anything different. "Fine, but we'll have to call Nick. I won't be able to get you into my truck on your own."

"Sara, no. I don't want Nick here. I can do it." Greg challenged her.

"Let me get your chair." Sara reluctantly said and went a few metres down the alley to retrieve it.

Greg tried to stand up but he couldn't and he knew he wouldn't have been able to yet tried anyway.

Sara hooked her arm under Greg's right one and he whimpered in pain.

"Sorry." Sara apologised softly. She used all her strength to lift Greg and knew he must have lost some weight as it wasn't as hard to pick him up as she thought it would be.

Greg was in his chair in less than thirty seconds and Sara began to push him back down the alley towards her vehicle.

Once they reached it, Sara undid the car and opened the passenger side without a word. She then helped Greg in and she didn't say anything about the wet seat she noticed. The ride to Greg's house was just as quiet and Sara kept looking over to Greg, and he was just staring out the window silently.

"Let's clean you up." Sara said once they were in Greg's house. They were sat in the kitchen, Greg in his chair and Sara in a normal one.

She asked Greg where he had his cloths and he'd told her but then gone back to his quiet state. She gently wiped his face with a wet cloth, removing the dirt and blood before doing the same to his neck and the top of his chest, after she undid a few more buttons.

"There we go. Let's do your hands." Sara said softly and waited for him to hold them out.

Greg raised his hands which were shaking madly and swallowed trying to get rid of the lump in his throat. Sara grabbed hold of his hands and looked into Greg's eyes.

"Hey, it's okay." She said and tried to make him believe her. All he did was nod, so she went back to cleaning his hands.

Once they'd done, Sara asked him something. "So, are you ready to tell me what happened?"

Greg opened his mouth to talk but quickly closed it again when the tears crept up on him. He took his left hand up to his face and rubbed his left eye.

"Alright. Just tell me when you're ready." Sara told him and smiled at him. Then she had an idea.

"Where's your computer?"

Greg looked at her a bit curious. "It's in my bedroom."

"Can I use it?" Sara asked him already standing up.

Greg nodded. "Yeah, of course."

Sara smiled again and made her way upstairs. She'd not been upstairs in his house before but Greg's bedroom door was open so she found it without having to go through all the rooms. She went in a looked around a bit, his room was huge! The room was plain but tasteful and it made Sara realise how much Greg had changed over the years.

Getting back to what she was doing, she found Greg's laptop on his bed. Sitting down on it, she pressed the power button and found that it hadn't been shut down properly and was on standby. What she saw surprised her. It was a webpage 'Surgery to remove scars'. It had never crossed her mind until now that Greg was bothered about the scars on his back from the explosion. She closed the page down but she thought about what she saw. She found the charger to the laptop plugged in by his bed and set up what she needed to before taking it down to Greg.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw that Greg hadn't moved from his place in the kitchen.

"Here." Was all she said to him and she passed him the laptop.

Greg looked confused but a small smile appeared on his face when he saw the screen.

"Grissom?"

**Woah, I can't believe I wrote a chapter that long! Sorry if you got bored, I hope you didn't. Anyway please review so I know if you liked or not :) **


	12. A Chat With Grissom

**Thanks Marymel for the review again :) I hope anyone who reads enjoys this chapter!**

**A Chat With Grissom**

"Hey, Greg." Greg couldn't believe Grissom was there, he hadn't spoken to him in ages, never mind see him.

"I've heard you had a few things going on lately."

Greg could feel the tears swell in his eyes; partially because he was talking to Grissom and he was happy, but mostly because he respected the older man so much and felt that he was disappointing him. "Yeah. I have."

Grissom nodded. "Do you want to talk about it Greg?" He asked softly. Up to yet, no one had talked with Greg about what happened, so talking to his previous boss about it wasn't what Greg had in mind.

Shaking his head, Greg said. "No, I never want to talk about it."

"Do you know what happened, Griss?" Greg asked. He knew Sara must have told him to some extent what had happened, but he didn't know how much.

"Yeah, Sara's told me. It happened at the lab, am I correct?"

Greg nodded. "Yeah. I don't seem to have much luck in that building at times." He said quietly, with a nervous laugh to follow. "I dunno if I want to go back Griss." Greg admitted to him. After what had happened, Greg thought nothing other than the restrooms at the lab and what happened in them.

Sara pretended not to be listening to their conversation, but couldn't help but pay attention now. She kept her ears open as she got them both a drink.

"I can understand why you're considering not returning, but you worked so hard to become a CSI Greg. Do you really want to let those criminals ruin that for you?"

Greg smiled. "They already have. How am I going to be able to go to a crime scene in a wheelchair?"

"You can still go, just as long as the floor's either processed first or it doesn't need doing. Trust me there are ways around it. Or there's always work in the lab that needs doing, and you're great at that too." Grissom told him.

"Mmh. I'm just not sure anymore you know?" Greg sighed. "I don't know what to do."

Grissom nodded with a small smile. "I know what you mean. Everyone feels like that at some point; they're lost and just need some direction. But seriously Greg, I think you should stick at the lab. You earnt your place there and your position, you're respected for what you do and what you've done to get where you are. It'd be a terrible shame to lose that. Not just for you but for everyone else at the lab too."

Greg shrugged unsure. "I'll think about it for a while."

Grissom smiled. "Good. So how's it going with Nick? Sara told me you're staying with him."

Greg looked at Grissom briefly but then looked down. "It was going good. But then, I said some things that I shouldn't..." Greg regretted what he said to Nick and how he spoke to him. He didn't deserve it after looking after him so well and helping him so much. "He's gonna hate me." He said with a sad voice as he ran his left hand over his face.

"You know Nick, he's not like that. I bet he said some things too, am I right?" Grissom asked. After working with most of the team for so long, he knew them inside and out.

"Yeah." Remembering what Nick said to him, Greg thought about how much they really hurt him inside.

"What did he say Greg?" Grissom asked him. He noticed that Greg's mood had changed by the tone in his voice. Sara brought him a drink over and sat beside him. Greg didn't answer him, just shook his head.

Sara frowned. "What did he say?"

Greg looked up to her with sad eyes. "It doesn't matter."

Sara grabbed his hand. "It does Greg. What did he say?"

"I kinda had a go at him and I told him to leave me alone so that I could change and he said, _Leave you alone? How the hell are you going to get out of bed yourself, never mind getting dressed. _It's stupid I know." Greg said after a moment and wiped his eyes which had teared up a little bit.

Sara shared a look with Grissom. "It's not stupid at all. He shouldn't have said something so spiteful no matter what you said to him before. But you proved him wrong huh?" She said and squeezed his hand encouragingly.

"I need to apologise to him." Greg said ignoring what Sara said.

"Nick, will be over it by now, I know it." Grissom pitched in.

"I dunno…" Greg said quietly. Moving the topic on, he and Grissom talked for another half an hour until Sara interrupted them.

"Nick just called; he's been everywhere trying to look for you. He said he rang your phone quite a few times too, but you didn't pick up."

Greg patted his jeans pockets and then wiped his hand over his face. "I must have left my phone down that alley."

"Arr, why am I so stupid!" He said frustrated.

"Don't worry, I'll go back there now and fetch it." Sara said grabbing her keys.

But Greg shook his head. "No, someone will have taken it by now." He sighed. "Why is everything so messed up?"

"Things are going to get better Greg." Grissom told him with confidence.

"Right come on, we're going to Nick's." Sara then said.

The look on Greg's face made Sara feel a bit guilty, but they needed to sort things out. "Do we have to?"

Sara nodded. "Yeah, I've told Nick we'll be there in ten."

"Right." Greg said. "It was nice talking again. It's weird not seeing you all the time."

Grissom smiled. "It was. I'll contact you again soon; I might even come to Vegas again in a few months." This made Greg smile. "Things will get better from here; you have the team by your side and me."

"Hopefully." Greg smiled. "Cya Griss."

"Bye Greg. Bye Sara." They both smiled and then Sara shut the laptop down.

Greg sighed. Now, he had to sort things with Nick.

**Pleaseeeeee review and tell me what you think, it means a lot!**


	13. How It Used To Be

**Thank you for reviewing ****Marymel**** :D Means a hell of a lot to me! Also, thanks to everyone who has so far alerted, favourited and followed; I never did say thanks, so thank you! Here's the next chapter :)**

**How It Used To Be**

Tension. Sara and Greg had just arrived at Nick's and Greg and Nick hadn't yet said a word to each other.

"I'm going to leave you two alone. You need to sort this out between you." Sara said sternly and went into the kitchen, leaving the men alone in the living room.

"Nick, I'm sorry-" Greg started.

"Don't bother, you're not the one that needs to apologise." Nick interrupted. "You know, I didn't mean what I said, at the time it just slipped out but it shouldn't have." He said apologetically.

Greg nodded. "Yeah, I shouldn't have said what I did. Believe me when I say this, I couldn't be more grateful for what you've done for me; letting me stay here, and you looking after me." He took a deep breath in. "I don't usually say things like that and you're the last person I wanted to say it to."

Nick chuckled lightly. "I never knew you had such a foul mouth." He joked.

"Well me neither really. Nick, I'm really sorry." Greg said with tears beginning to shine in his eyes. "I'll just get my stuff and leave."

Nick shook his head, still with a smile on his face. "Greggo, whatever happened earlier is forgotten. The last thing I'd want you to do is leave, it's been nice having someone around."

"Let me make it up to you; I'll take you to get a nice steak or something?" Nick asked him with a grin. He hoped Greg didn't feel bad about earlier nor blame himself for being such an asshole.

Greg shook his head hard. "No, I'm not going out again." He said quietly and quickly.

"Alright, alright." Nick said. "We won't go out. What happened earlier?"

"Nothing happened."

"Huh, it sounds like something went on. Should I ask Sara?" Nick wondered.

Greg shook his head. "No."

"I ran into some guys when I was on my own."

Nick's face went serious and his eyes seemed to darken. "What guys, what did they do?"

"Nothing at first. But then, one of them punched me in the face." Greg's voice hitched a bit. "And then they err, they tipped me out my chair onto the floor. I think they were going to leave, but then..." He looked away for a moment and then down. "Then one of them saw that my chair seat was wet and they threw it down the alley. This one guy hung around and spat on my face, and he kicked me... in my err, my crotch." He stammered. He was so embarrassed, he hadn't even told anyone that he was now hurting even more in that place.

Nick was fuming with anger. "Man, where were they, I'll go and make them regret that they ever touched you." He said standing up and grabbing his keys.

Sara came back in when she heard Nick and looked at him confused when he was stood by the door. "Where you going, Nick?"

"I'm going to find these guys who hurt Greg."

Sara looked over to Greg who looked worried to death. "Greg?"

He looked up to her sadly. "These guys..." He shook his head. Sighing he said, "It doesn't matter. Nick please stay here, they won't even be there."

Sara moved to grab Nick's arm. "Greg's right. It's not worth going out to try and find them."

Nick angrily shook his head and dropped his keys on the table. "Well you're not going out on your own again; I'm not running the risk of this happening again." Greg just nodded and said nothing.

"I take it you're okay again now then?" Sara asked after Nick had sat down.

"Yeah, we're good." Nick told her with a smile.

Sara smiled back at him and to Greg. "Good, for a bit I thought Greg might have had to stay with me." She said cheekily.

Nick laughed. "I don't think Greg would have minded it."

Greg laughed at them both. This was just how it used to be.

X

**Thanks for reading everyone :) Please review!**


	14. Lost

**Thank you so much ****Marymel****, it really means a lot that you reviewed! Loving your stories as well, so anyone who's reading this check them out! And I hope you all enjoy this chapter and please review if you have the time :) x**

**Lost**

"Come on, man, I don't want you to be left out." Nick said as he buttoned up his shirt.

Greg shook his head. "I'm not bothered about going."

Russell had called to say that the team was going out for breakfast and they wanted Nick and Greg to join them.

"Well if you're not going, I'm not going neither." Nick said as he dropped down next to Greg on his sofa.

Greg leaned his head back. "Don't do that."

"What?" Nick asked innocently.

"You know what. Please, just go without me." Greg told him.

Nick shook his head stubbornly. "Nope, if you go, I'll go."

Greg sighed. "Fine, I'll go."

Nick grinned. "There you go, not too bad saying yes is it?" He laughed. "Now come on, we need to leave."

X

"Hey guys." Nick said as he and Greg joined them all at the table.

"Hey, what do you want to drink?" Russell asked as he called the waitress over, who they knew quite well from visiting the diner so often.

"Coffee please." Nick told Emily, the waitress.

She wrote it down on her pad. "Black, two sugars?"

Nick smiled. "You got it."

"Greg, honey what do you want?" Emily asked him, chewing her gum quite loud and putting her arm on his shoulder.

Unconsciously he shuffled his shoulder down a bit, which everyone picked up on. "Glass of water please." He told her with a smile.

"One water coming right up." She told him with a cheeky wink.

Everyone laughed at her slightly. "So what's everyone having?" Nick asked and they all talked amongst themselves until their food arrived.

X

Greg was relatively quiet. He couldn't help but look around every two minutes, after everything that had happened it just came naturally now.

"So, how are you?" Morgan asked him.

He looked at her and swallowed. They hadn't talked since their little... dispute you could call it, a few days ago. "Alright. You?"

"I'm good thanks. How's your arm?" She asked him, nodding down to his right arm.

"Getting better. I can move it a bit more now." He told her with a small smile. It was awkward talking with her.

"That's great!" Morgan said enthusiastically.

"Have you been up to much then?" Greg asked, sparking up the conversation again after a few moments of silence.

"Work mainly. No exciting cases though unfortunately. Or fortunately depending on how you look at it."

They smiled together and it seemed that the past was forgotten.

X

"Thanks Emily." Catherine said to her as she brought their food over.

"No worries hun. You need anything just shout." She said before walking away.

Greg had ordered some pancakes with bacon, not really wanting anything big.

With only one working arm, he managed to cut the pancakes well enough with just his fork but the bacon was a bit trickier.

He messed around with it for a while and soon enough everyone kept looking up, giving him sympathetic glances. He looked up at them all and laughed quietly and nervously. "Can't cut it." He told them, not really knowing what else to say.

Nick reached over and grabbed the fork out of his hand. "You got a knife?" He asked him with half a mouthful of food, not wanting to make a big fuss out of it.

Greg picked it up and passed it to him. "Yeah" he said quietly. He willed himself to keep composed but he saw everyone looking at him and the tears were making their way into his eyes.

He bit his bottom lip and scratched the end of his thumb and finger nails together to keep himself from crying.

"There ya' go, man." Nick said as he passed his plate back to him.

Greg looked to him. "Thanks." He mumbled with a hitch in his voice.

He took in a shaky breath.

"You wanna' have a minute outside?" Nick asked him.

"Yeah." Quietly, Nick stood up and wheeled Greg outside, whilst everyone smiled at him sympathetically as he went.

X

Nick took them both to just outside the diner doors. "You alright?" He asked Greg as he knelt in front of him.

Greg shook his head 'no' and erupted into tears. Even a few sobs made their way out of his mouth.

"Hey, now come on." Nick told him softly as he put his hand on Greg's knee comfortingly.

He was in hysterics and gasped for air as he cried. "It's no big deal, man, don't worry about it."

"It is a big deal." Greg argued followed by a sob.

"No, it's not. You needed a little bit of help, that's all." Nick told him. "It's nothing."

Greg sniffed. "Everybody was looking at me."

"Who cares?" Nick told him with a smile. "Let them look. Besides, it's only because they care for you, you know that."

"But I don't want them to have to look at me like that. I... I.." He stuttered as more tears rolled down his cheeks.

"They won't for long. It's going to be a long time until you recover properly, but we can get through it." Nick told him.

Greg shook his head. "It doesn't seem worth it though."

Nick's ears pricked up. "What doesn't?"

"Going through all this, I'm still going to be in here." Greg said, meaning his wheelchair.

"So what? Of course it's worth it." Nick told him, slightly pinching his knee.

All he did though was shrug. "I don't know."

"Seems easier to just give up." He added.

"You can't say stuff like that, man. You're getting me worried." Nick said honestly. This wasn't what he wanted to be hearing.

Greg sighed and wiped his eyes.

"Right, come on, let's go back in there. And you can eat that darn bacon that caused all this!" Nick joked with Greg, earning a small smile. "You ready? We can wait a lil' bit longer if ya' want to?"

"No, it's okay. I'm ready." Taking a deep breath in, both of them went inside.

X

"Look at him." Catherine said as she watched Greg break down into tears through the windows.

"I don't know what we can do to help him." Sara said to the rest of them as she looked down at her plate, feeling as if she had to give Greg at least a little bit of privacy.

It torn Morgan's heart to see her friend so upset. She watched as he wiped his eyes just to let more tears fall.

"It's still early days, just give him some more time and then we'll know how to help." Russell spoke up. An airy silence fell between them and they waited for Greg and Nick to come back in.

X

Russell, Catherine, Sara and Morgan had began to talk again before the other two came back to join them at the table. When they did, Catherine turned to Greg and smiled. "You alright?" She asked in a motherly way.

"Yeah." Greg replied with a smile but then quickly looked down and began to eat his bacon.

She smiled at him and everyone, bar Greg, started talking again as if nothing had happened.

X

"So how's my little baby?" Emily asked as she sat on the arm of Greg's chair. "You look a little worse for wear."

Greg laughed a bit as he moved away slightly. "I'm okay."

She raised her eyebrows a little as she blew her chewing gum into a bubble. "Okay? Honey you don't look it. What's that?" She asked as she could see a bruise coming from under his shirts collar. She brought her hand up to pull it down to see it some more.

Greg froze as she held his shirt down showing off his badly bruised and scabbed over wound from where the metal collar had been. Quickly he pulled it back up and out of her hand.

"That looks awful. I've not seen you in ages, I heard about what happened though."

Greg's face fell and he looked to Nick.

"Err; don't I have a doctor's appointment or something?" He asked in a panic. _How could she know what happened?_

"No, I don't think so." Nick told him with a confused face.

Russell shook his head, unbelieving that Nick couldn't get the drift.

"After those punks beat you up not too long ago and now it's happened again." Emily shook her head. "That's a bit of bad luck."

"Is that what you were told?" Greg asked her.

"What?" She asked him back.

"That I was beat up." He clarified.

"Oh yeah, why is that not it?"

Greg inwardly sighed with relief. "No, that's what happened." Sara told her.

"Who told you this, if you don't mind me asking." Russell chirped in.

She stood up and shrugged. "Nobody really. It's just all the cops come in here talking about it all the time, I just overheard."

Greg looked around and then down.

"Thanks." Russell said as she took their plates away.

"What the hell are they talking about it for?" Nick asked rather angrily.

"You know what some of the guys are like, they just love to gossip about everything they can." Morgan said to Nick, even though she said it for Greg's sake.

"Yeah, it's just something new for them to chat about." Russell said with a shake of his head.

"They're gonna have something new to talk about if they carry on." Nick warned. This made Greg smile.

Soon enough, they left the diner and went their separate ways.

X

Back at Nick's house they were both sat on the sofa.

"Can we talk?" Nick asked Greg.

Greg nodded.

"You know what you said earlier?"

"What?" Greg asked him.

Nick sighed. "About giving up, and it not being worth it." Greg got an idea of where this talk might be going.

"Well, I want you to be honest with me alright? Just, just tell me the truth. Are you having any bad thoughts, you know, thinking of doing anything?" It was really hard to think that he was asking Greg these questions, but he needed answers.

Greg nodded.

"Okay. How often?" Nick asked him.

"I've thought about it a couple of times, I thought about it today, that's the second time." He said in a small childlike voice.

"What do you think of doing?" Nick wondered if he was going too far, but he just couldn't stop himself.

Greg shrugged looking down. "I don't know. I've seen your gun around a few times." He told him truthfully.

Nick nodded. "Would you ever go through with it do you think?"

"Maybe. It's only when I'm having a really bad day that it seems to be an option at the time. I just don't know what to do. I feel lost."

"Talk to me, man. That's what you can do. I'm here for you, the worst thing that could happen is you go and do something stupid. I wanna' help you. You got that?"

Greg nodded.

"I think I'm going to ring Dr. Stalin and see if she can make us an appointment with a psychiatrist or something. They can help. And you know I'm always gonna be here. No matter what, 'kay?"

Greg smiled. "Yeah."

"Alright." Nick said and smiled slightly back at him. He went to the kitchen and sighed.

He was worried about Greg.

**X **

**Please, please, please review! x**


	15. I Don't Want to Talk

**Thank you Marymel ****and guest for the reviews! :) Please enjoy this everyone reading x **

X

"Brass has just phoned; he has Demetrius James' brother in custody. He's already asked him a few questions, and he has no alibi for where he was when you were attacked." Nick said as he brought a full English breakfast into Greg's room.

Greg smiled from his sat up position. "That's great." He said quietly as Nick put the tray down in front of him.

"Yeah man it is. Brass didn't manage to get a lot from him though because soon his Mom arrived and told him to not talk until he had a lawyer."

Greg nodded and began to nibble at his food. "You want some of this? I won't be able to eat it all."

Nick shook his head. "No, you need to eat it. There's barely anything on you."

"I'm not really that hungry." Greg told him.

Nick frowned and sat on the edge of Greg's bed. "I rang your doctor; she's set up an appointment with a psychiatrist for later. She got you in as soon as she could."

"I don't wanna go." Greg admitted quietly whilst playing with his food, head down.

"I know, but you need to go, Dr Stalin said she's really nice and easy to talk to." Nick told him.

Greg shrugged. "Still... I don't want to talk to anyone. I don't need to."

Nick inwardly sighed. "Greg, listen to me. You're my best friend, and if I were to lose you... I don't know what I'd do. I've lost Warrick and I can't deal with losing you too."

"Please, talk to her. She can help you deal with all this, she can help you sleep at night and get on with your life." Nick begged him. He still couldn't get over what Greg had said to him yesterday.

But Greg still shook his head. "But I don't want to need help. I just want to get on with this by myself."

Nick didn't know what else to say. He got up and went into his living room where he rang Catherine and asked her to come over. Without even asking why, she was on her way and not quarter of an hour later she was knocking at Nick's door.

"Hey."

"Hey Catherine, I need you to talk to Greg." Nick explained as he let her in.

"About what?" She enquired whilst taking off her jacket.

Nick motioned for her to sit with him on his sofa. "Yesterday, Greg said something that he shouldn't have when we were outside the diner. When we got home, I asked him if he was thinking of harming himself..."

Catherine gasped.

"And he said he was and that he's seen my gun lying around a few times." Nick stopped for a minute when moisture collected in his eyes.

Catherine shuffled closer to him and rubbed his arm comfortingly. "Hey, it's okay Nicky. It'll be alright."

Nick shook his head and looked at her. "He was serious, Cath." He continued with a cracked voice. "I told him when he woke up that I'd got him an appointment with a psychiatrist. But he doesn't wanna go. I tried to persuade him but he wasn't having it."

"I don't know how this happened, you know? I don't want to lose him Catherine. And if he killed himself, I, I..." Nick shook his head and wiped his eyes.

"Hey, now come on, we're not going to lose him." Catherine told Nick as she embraced him in a hug. "I'll talk to him and together we're going to help him get through this okay?"

Nick pulled away from her and nodded.

Catherine reluctantly left Nick and went towards Greg's bedroom.

X

"Knock knock." She said softly as she pushed the door open.

Greg looked over to her and smiled very slightly. He was reaching over to put the tray on top of the drawers, and the plate of food looked untouched.

Catherine walked over and helped put the tray out the way. Then, she sat, much like Nick had earlier, on the side of the bed.

"I heard you have an appointment with a psychiatrist, that's great." She started.

Greg stared at her for a second. "I don't care what you say, I'm not going.

Catherine smiled. He was good.

"Really? Nothing I say can change your mind?"

He shook his head and silence fell between them.

"Was Nick crying?" Greg asked, his voice low.

Catherine looked to him and nodded. "Yeah he was. Because of you Greg. He wants to help you; he's tried arranging this appointment for you but you just threw it back at him. He doesn't know what to do and he's scared he's going to lose you because of it."

Greg swallowed and looked down ashamed. He had made the strong, tough Texan cry. He had made his best friend cry. "I've never know him cry before."

"That's because he's as hard as a rock." Catherine said with a smile. "But, you're a little brother to Nick and the thought of you not being happy is tearing him apart."

Greg felt his own tears creep up on him and he looked down. "I don't want to talk to anyone though."

"Greg" Catherine started and grabbed Greg's hand, "You're not the only person who's ever needed help from a psychiatrist. I've been to one before and Nick's been to one before."

"When has Nick been to one?" Greg asked quietly.

"After he was put underground. He came to me and he _asked_ me to help him." Catherine paused and looked out the room for a moment. She carried on in a quiet voice, "He started to cry when he told me that he couldn't sleep at night because every time he closed his eyes he was back in that box. He said he was scared whenever he saw a bug."

"I told him we were going to get him some help and he went to a psychiatrist and talked. I went with him the first time he went and he cried again, in front of someone he'd only just met. But she said crying was good and that he was letting all his anxieties out, which would allow him to move on and forget everything that happened."

"I'll tell you now; Nick was a changed man as soon as he'd finished his first session. And soon enough, he was just how he used to be."

Greg thought about Nick and how he never even knew this. "So it worked?"

"Yeah, and it will do for you too. Just give it a try, alright?" Catherine said with a smile and squeeze of his hand.

Greg sighed and nodded. "Did Nick ever tell anyone he went to see her?"

"He told Grissom. He had to because of the job; and in case he ever had to go on any pills." Catherine explained.

Greg nodded. "So I have to tell Russell?" He asked sadly.

Catherine smiled. "Yeah, but there's no shame in having to see a psychiatrist, you know that don't you? Do you think any less of Nick?"

Quickly Greg shook his head and spoke. "Of course not."

"There you go. I promise this will help you, Greg."

Greg smiled at her and nodded. Fingers-crossed she was right.

X

"You want anything to eat? We need to be leaving soon." Nick asked from the kitchen.

"No, can I just have a glass of water please?" Greg replied.

Nick came in to join Greg and sat on the sofa. He watched as Greg took a big drink of the water and rubbed his head.

Greg noticed him looking and smiled. "I'm giving myself a headache."

Nick smiled. "Don't stress over this, man. It won't be as bad as you think."

Greg looked over at Nick and decided to bring up what Catherine had said. "Catherine told me you saw a psychiatrist before..."

Nick looked to him and bit surprised and then nodded. "Yeah I did."

"Were you scared?" Greg asked him with a shaky voice and the slightest glimmer of tears in his eyes.

Nick licked his bottom lip. "A little bit. But, I guess I was more nervous. I'd worked myself up so much that I just wanted someone to be able to help me you know? I wasn't coping on my own. I'm glad I went."

"How come you didn't talk to Warrick or something?"

"The same reason you're not talking to me I guess." Nick answered with a smile. "Somethings, you just don't want to talk to your friends about."

Greg nodded in understanding before falling quiet.

"Now come on. Let's go now otherwise we'll be late." Nick said after a while.

Soon enough, they were in Nick's truck and heading to the psychiatrist.

X

**Please review! And thanks for reading :) x **


	16. The Psychiatrist

**Thank you again Marymel for your review! Hopefully there's a few more people reading too! Here's the next chapter :) x **

**The Psychiatrist **

"Good morning. I'm Dr. Frena, but you can call me Mel." The psychiatrist introduced herself as she rose from her seat to greet the two men who had just entered her office.

Nick smiled at her and closed the door behind him and Greg, then wheeled Greg to her desk which she had come around.

"You're Greg, I presume?" She asked as she shook Greg's hand.

"Yeah." Greg nodded with a small smile.

"Hi, I'm Nick, we spoke a few hours ago." Nick told her, shaking her hand.

She smiled, "Well, please take a seat."

Greg sat in his chair and Nick moved a chair to sit by him. "So, I understand it was you, Nick, who rang to make the appointment?" Mel asked as she sat down behind her desk.

"Yeah, Greg wasn't too keen on the idea of coming here, were you, bud?" Nick asked him and smiled as he looked across to him.

Greg shook his head and smiled slightly at him and then Mel. "Why's that Greg?" Mel asked him.

"I just… I don't want to be here." Greg told her quietly with a nervous laugh, and looked down.

"Why not; don't you think it will help?" Mel asked him as she clasped her hands in front of her.

Greg shrugged at her and looked away out the window. "What happened to you, Greg?" Mel pressed after a few moments of silence.

Nick sat quietly, waiting for Greg to answer. "A lot of things."

"Such as?"

Greg didn't say anything, just carried on staring out the window. Nick and Mel also sat not saying anything, but soon enough, the quiet was getting to Nick.

"Greg, come on, you said you'd talk when you got here. You just gonna' sit here for an hour and not say a word?"

Greg turned his head to look at Nick. "_I _said I'd talk? I don't think _I_ did, it's you who said that."

"But you're here. You came, so you must want to talk about it." Nick argued.

"No Nick, I don't why is that so hard for you to understand. I. Don't. Want. To. Talk. About. It." Greg stated.

"Okay, Greg. I can understand that sometimes people don't want to talk about things that have happened in their lives, and that's completely fine. But sometimes, it's good to talk, just to get everything out in the open." Mel told him, feeling the tension between the two men.

Greg looked to her and let out a sigh. "But I really don't want to talk about it. I don't want to even think about it. I'm never going to forget what happened, so why relive it all by telling everyone the specifics?"

"It helps people, Greg. You know, I've worked with people of all ages, all for different reasons. From what I've been told, you were sexually assaulted, someone raped you Greg, is that correct?"

Greg nodded reluctantly and turned his head back to the window.

"How did you feel after that?" Mel asked him softly.

"Mmh, you know." Greg told her quietly.

She shook her head. "No I don't. I want you to tell me."

Greg took a shaky breath and looked down in his lap. "I don't know… scared."

"And are you still scared, Greg?"

He nodded and kept his head bowed.

Nick looked to his friend sadly.

"Why are you scared now Greg?" Mel asked him, leaning forward slightly in her chair.

"Because…"

"…They're still out there, and they could do the same thing again." Greg told them quietly.

"Is that the only reason?" Mel asked him, knowing it wasn't.

Greg was quiet and all that could be heard was his heavy breathing.

"G?" Nick asked.

"I'm scared of everything." Greg told them and looked up with tears in his eyes.

Mel nodded and smiled sweetly, and Nick patted him on the shoulder to which he flinched.

"That's understandable, and there's no shame in that." Mel told him. "You don't like contact either?"

Greg shook his head. "I don't mean to move, but I can't help it. I don't want people touching me."

"Again, that's completely normal. But you need to open up to people, and let them know what you do and don't like, otherwise they'll never know." Mel told him and Nick nodded his head in agreement.

Greg glanced at them both. "I'm sorry."

Nick frowned. "What are you sorry for, man?"

"For just, being like this. Taking up both of your time."

"Greg, this is my job; to help people. Like you. And Nick obviously wants to be here because he's you friend and he wants to support you whilst you overcome everything." Mel told him.

"Yeah man, I just want you to get better." Nick chimed in.

Greg stayed silent, but listened to every word they had to say. "Who are you staying with at the minute?" Mel asked him.

Greg nodded over to Nick. "And how is that?"

Greg looked to Nick and swallowed, and then looked to Mel. "It's okay mostly."

Mel cocked her head. "Mostly? Care to expand?"

"We've had our arguments. I just wish I was able to look after myself." Greg told her, and then to Nick… looking almost frightened.

Mel saw his glance to Nick and began to get suspicious. "Do you think it's best you stay with somebody else for a little while?"

Greg shook his head. "I like it at Nicks."

"I just don't like it when we fall out because I've been an ass to him."

"Hey, you're not an ass to me." Nick told him.

"I think that the first thing you need to do Greg, is have a good laugh with Nick, maybe talk to him a little more about your troubles or problems your facing, and then you'll be able to start looking forward. I can see that Nick cares about you and that you see him as a good friend too, so you need to spend some quality time together." Mel told them.

Greg looked to Nick and smiled slightly and nodded his head.

X

"So, how did you find it?" Nick asked Greg as they were heading out to Nick's truck.

"It was okay, I guess." Greg replied and Nick smiled.

"Well I think it was great. It was nice hearing you open up a little."

Greg smiled slightly in his chair, where Nick couldn't see him. He did feel a little better for going, but it would be a long way until he was comfortable with it.

"Right, you ready?" Nick asked as they'd reached his truck and had the passenger door open ready for Greg to get in.

"Okay; one, two, three!"

X

It wasn't half an hour later that they were back at Nick's place.

"You wanna have a beer and watch the game? It's about to start in about ten minutes." Nick shouted to Greg, who was in his living room.

"Err, yeah, sure." To be honest, sport rarely interested Greg, but he figured that he could watch it for Nick's sake; after all he'd done for him recently.

"Here we go then." Nick said as he came to sit down and slid a beer across his table to Greg.

"Thanks." Greg said with a smile.

"Err, could you, help me go to the bathroom?" He then asked nervously.

Nick put his beer down and stood up, "Sure man, of course."

He pushed Greg into the bathroom and then helped him onto the toilet. Much to Greg's dismay, he couldn't go to the bathroom by himself, so Nick had to take him. He hated having to have his best friend help him. It was embarrassing and Greg could feel himself turn bright red whenever he had to ask to be taken.

It was the same with his showers. Nick had brought a stool for Greg to sit on to have a shower, so that it was easier than lifting him in and out of the bath tub all the time. Luckily, Nick had a separate shower to his bath.

Greg needed Nick's help taking his clothes off and putting fresh ones on, the only thing he could manage was to clean himself. He couldn't thank Nick enough for acting so casual about the whole thing. He knew that he must feel just as awkward as he did, but he just got on with it.

Once they'd done in the bathroom, Nick and Greg went to watch the game. Well Nick did, it was hard for Greg to keep his eyes open recently, life just seemed so tiring and whenever he slept, it wouldn't be restfully.

Nick had to wake him up plenty of times because he was having a nightmare. Sometimes he even had to stay with Greg, just to calm him down. But in the morning, Greg didn't even remember waking up and Nick didn't have the heart to tell him.

But, Nick thought Greg was getting better. It hadn't been that long after the whole thing happened, but to Nick, there had been a steady difference in Greg.

Hopefully he was right.

X

**Sooo, did you like it or not? Review if you have the time! Criticisms are welcomeee :) x **


	17. First Day Back

**Thank you again Marymel for your review! Anyone else reading, I do accept anonymous reviews so just leave a small comment if you have the time **** x **

"Nick?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Nick asked as he sat next to Greg on his sofa.

"Did you guys… did you get Aaron? Is he under arrest?" Greg asked him tentatively. He'd been to afraid to ask before now, but he really wanted to know.

Nick smiled. "He is. He was keeping quiet until we riled him up a little, then he let a few things slip… we have him locked away for a while, and with you identifying him, he'll get even longer."

Greg smiled slightly. "And, what about the other guys?" He asked cautiously.

Nick's smile faded. "We've managed to get one other guy, Aaron told us he was involved but he won't let on to anyone else who was involved. You wanna' know the other guys name?"

"No." Greg shook his head sternly. "I don't want to know anything about them." He told Nick.

Nick nodded his understanding. "Yeah, I understand."

They sat in silence for a minute. "Russell mentioned something the other day. He said you're welcome to come back to work whenever you're ready. Lab work, obviously. Just until… well if, you can go out in the field." Nick told him with a suggestive tone.

Greg raised his eyebrows. "Hmm. I want to, but I don't know. I don't really want to go back there." He told Nick with a nervous laugh.

Nick smiled. "I know you don't." He said with a soft tone. "But, you have to do it one day right?"

"Well yeah. But, when I had to go in that day when your sister had the accident, I… it took me about an hour just to go inside." Greg told him with a sigh.

Nick turned off the TV which had been playing in the back ground and got up. "Well then let's go again now; don't worry about anything, alright? I'll be with you every step of the way."

Greg took a deep breath and let out a shaky sigh.

X

"You ready?" Nick asked with a smile.

Greg gave a short smile back and nodded, but chose not to say anything for now.

Nick got behind him and began wheeling him into the lab. As soon as they got inside, Nick put a comforting hand on Greg's shoulder, to which he flinched slightly, but managed to control the reflex quite well.

They carried on until they reached the break room, where surprisingly, the whole team was, including Hodges and Henry. Nick stopped at the door and gently knocked and they all turned around.

"Greg!" They all shouted together as they stood up. Greg smiled at them and tried to hide his discomfort as they all huddled around him.

"Hey, one at a time! Don't suffocate him!" Nick told them jokily, picking up Greg's discomfort. The team slowly thinned out until they had all greeted their fellow team member back.

"It's nice of you to come and see us." Russell commented once they'd all sat down around the table.

Greg smiled and nodded. "Yeah, err Nick said that you'd mentioned something about me being able to come back?" He asked quietly.

Russell smiled at him and looked to Nick. "Whenever you're ready. There's a place waiting for you in the lab."

"Wait, I'm still going to have a job right?" Hodges asked jokily making everybody laugh.

"Unfortunately." Sara said with a smile to which everyone laughed again.

Greg smiled too. "So I can come back whenever I want?"

Russell nodded. "Yep, any time you're ready."

Greg nodded in reply and looked down. This was a hard choice.

"You know, from what I hear, you were the best this lab's ever had" Morgan told him.

Catherine grinned and looked around. "He was; he was the best in Vegas." She said as she rubbed his shoulder. He looked up to her and gave her a soft smile.

"We can't wait to have you back, Greg." Sara told him.

"_I_ can't wait to have you back Greg. I can't handle Hodges on my own." Henry told him and everyone laughed whilst Hodges sat there with an exaggerated shocked face.

Greg laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Can I start next week?" He asked Russell nervously.

Russell and the team smiled. "Of course you can. We can't wait."

Greg smiled slightly and gave a quiet 'thank you' as he sighed inside. That was going to be tough.

X

"How you feeling?" Nick asked Greg with a smile as they'd just finished getting Greg ready for his first day back at work.

"I'm good." Greg replied and they both smiled, knowing full well that Greg was lying.

"You'll be fine, man. If you wanna come back home anytime, just say the word. This is a big step." Nick told him.

Greg nodded. "I know. But I can do it… I can do it, right?"

Nick chuckled. "Yes, you can. Don't doubt yourself, you can handle this."

Greg sighed. He wished he believed him.

X

Greg had got into his lab with no problems. Of course the poor guy was nervous, but he was dealing with it okay. He'd settled in a lab just across from Hodges, and from where he was, he could see Henry too. So all in all, he was feeling okay. He'd managed to run some blood on his own but he'd just put some evidence in the fume hood which he needed to get out. He grabbed the sides but with only one properly working arm still, he couldn't get the latch released on his own.

Cursing himself for not being able to do it, he took a few deep breaths and wheeled himself backwards a bit so that he could look out the door and through to Hodges' lab.

"Hey Hodges?"

Hodges head turned around and he walked across the corridor into Greg's lab, taking off the goggles he was wearing and sliding them into his pocket. "Yes?"

"Could you help me with something?" Greg asked him.

Hodges smiled. "How can I be of assistance?"

Greg smiled back. "I can't get this thing up on my own." He said pointing to the fume hood.

Hodges went over to it and lifted it up no problem. "What's wrong with you? Your arm broken?" He asked jokily but his face immediately fell.

"Oh my God, Greg, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said that." He apologised hastily.

Greg was a bit hurt by the comment, but he knew Hodges had only meant it as a joke. "It's fine, don't worry about it."

Hodges looked like he was about to say something else, but then chose against it. "If you need me again, just give me a call."

"I will, thanks." Greg told him and watched as he went.

X

A little while later, Sara and Morgan arrived to drop off some evidence. "Hey Greg, how's your first day back going?"

Greg looked back to them from the machine he was at and smiled at them. "Hey guys." He said as he turned around. "Everything's going alright."

"Good." Morgan said. "I'm afraid we're bringing you more work." She told him with a sad smile as she placed bags of evidence down on his counter.

Greg looked down at it and smiled. "Pile it on."

Sara smiled back. "I'm sorry. What time do you finish?"

Greg looked down at his watch. "Five hours."

"Five hours? You're doing a full day?" Morgan asked surprised.

Greg nodded. "Well don't work yourself too hard alright?" Sara told him.

Greg smiled. "Yeah, you got it."

X

It was just an hour later when Russell entered Greg's lab and found him asleep, body slumped forward, head resting on his arms.

He walked over to him and bent down slightly. "Greg… Greg" He called softly to try and wake the younger man, but he wasn't having much luck. Gently touching the top of his arm, Greg bolted awake and inhaled sharply.

"Russell. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" He asked as he tried to catch his breath.

Russell looked at him and noticed the slight fear shining through in Greg's eyes. "Sorry, it's just you were sleeping on the job."

Greg looked around and cursed. "Shit. I'm sorry, Boss, it won't happen again. I must have drifted off or…"

Russell stopped him. "Greg, Greg. It's okay. Look, go home, get some rest, you can come and do half a day tomorrow."

"But, I can stay longer-"

"No Greg." Russell told him sternly. "You're tired. I'm not overworking you when it's your first week back. Come on, I'll take you home."

Greg looked to him sadly and sighed. Russell didn't even wait for a reply before he was helping take the lab coat off Greg and hanging it back up. Greg pulled his gloves off and threw them in the bin as Russell pushed him out. He hated this.

X

"You need anything before I go?" Russell asked as he stood up, ready to leave Nick's place where he'd just dropped Greg off.

Greg looked down and shook his head.

Russell nodded and headed over to the door. Greg had been quiet the whole way home and Russell was wondering if he was mad at him, or if he was just upset, or if it was something else completely.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, yeah?"

Greg nodded and looked up briefly. "Yeah, see you tomorrow."

Russell looked at him one more time and nodded before letting himself out.

A minute after Russell had left, Greg realised that he needed to pee. He slowly made his way down to the bathroom in his chair and opened the door. He was going to do this himself.

He shut the door behind him when he was inside and looked around. He made his way to the toilet and grabbed onto the wash basin. Pulling himself up, he grunted in pain and his arm wobbled with the strain of holding up his whole body. He held his breath as he moved himself over to the toilet, but, like when he tried before, he didn't make it.

X

Nick had heard that Greg had been taken home and expected the younger man to be in bed when he got home at the end of his shift. He locked his door and placed his keys in the bowl near the door. Making his way down the corridor, he noticed Greg's bedroom door open and the bed untouched from when he'd made it that morning. He looked to the bathroom and saw the light was on from the small gap underneath the door.

"Hey G, I'm home." He said as he went into his own room and threw his jacket on the bed. He was about to whip his shirt off but stopped when he didn't get a reply. "Greg?"

Getting a little worried, Nick knocked on the door gently. "Greg?" He called again and once more silence greeted him. Getting increasingly anxious, he opened the door and his heart stopped.

Greg was unconscious.

X

**Thanks for reading! Please leave a review! x**


	18. Rough Day

**Thank you for the reviews Marymel, 'Anonymous' and Queenie! Hope you enjoy this chapter! x**

Greg opened his eyes sluggishly and looked around. He was in hospital. Again. What a surprise.

What did surprise him though was that nobody was with him. Where was nick? Or Catherine? He looked around again and saw a window in his room. He squinted trying to get a better look through the small gaps in the blinds and saw Nick talking to one of the nurses outside. Probably chatting them up, Greg thought.

He chuckled to himself as he watched them and rubbed his head whilst grimacing in pain. Yep, he'd made a lump. How many more times was he planning on hitting his darn head? He closed his eyes for a moment but opened them again when the door opened.

"Hey you're awake." Nick said to him with a smile and then turned back to the nurse. "Could you call his doctor for me?" The nurse smiled and said something which Greg didn't quite catch, but Nick laughed at her and watched her walk away before fully entering his room.

"You asked her out yet?" Greg asked as Nick sat down next to him.

Nick laughed. "We're going out for a drink Friday night. It's not a date."

Greg rolled his eyes. "Yeah, alright then." He said with a smile.

"So here we are again, man. When are you gonna' give in? Huh?" Nick asked him, being more serious.

"I was just trying to go to the bathroom, that's all." Greg told him in defense.

"But you know you can't on your own. At least not yet anyway." Nick told him. "You should have called me."

Greg was about to say something back but his doctor, Doctor Stalin, came in. "Greg, what are we going to do with you?" she asked with a smile.

Greg smiled back and shook his head. "Sorry, I don't mean to keep coming in here."

She laughed slightly and picked up his chart. "How did we end up here this time?"

"I was trying to use the bathroom but I slipped and bumped my head… again." Greg told her, looking over to Nick with a bit of a smile.

"Hmm, this seems to be a bit of an issue we're having. How about we try something else, so that it makes it easier for you to go to the bathroom? It will save your brain from having a shaking all the time." Dr Stalin asked him with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Greg asked her.

"How about we try you using a catheter?" She asked.

Greg frowned. "You want me to piss in a bag?"

Nick looked to him. "Greg…" he warned, sensing the younger man was getting agitated.

"No Nick, would you wanna' do it?" Greg asked him with an accusing look.

"Greg please, you can do this yourself, be independent," Dr Stalin told him, "You don't have to have one that's permanent, you can try an intermittent one. Just have it when you need it." She tried to convince him.

But Greg was already shaking his head. "No, forget it. I'm not having one."

Nick sighed inwardly as he rubbed his forehead. "Man, come on, this is a good opportunity. It's gonna' save you getting embarrassed every time you need to take a leak, you won't have to ask me to help you. Don't you want that?"

Greg eyed Nick suspiciously. "Are you trying to get me to agree to it just so that it saves you having to take me all the time?"

Nick's mouth twitched as he held in a smile. "No, I'm not. It doesn't bother me, but every time we go to the bathroom I can see how much it bothers _you_." He told him.

Greg looked down and breathed deeply for a moment, and then looked up to Dr Stalin. "Does it hurt?" He asked her quietly.

She smiled as she shook her head. "It's uncomfortable. But it's not very painful at all."

He nodded as he thought about it. "What exactly would I have to do?"

"Well how about I show you?"

X

"You ready?" She asked him as she grabbed the covers.

Greg nodded as he nervously looked to Nick. Doctor Stalin was going to insert the catheter for him so that he could see how it needed to be done, and she suggested Nick be there, just so that he could do it if for any reason Greg couldn't or needed help.

She moved back the covers over him and lifted his gown. Greg looked up to the ceiling before looking back down to see what she was doing.

"Right, this is obviously sterilized but you will have to clean it before you use it." She told them and continued to explain what to do as she inserted it.

Greg tensed and squeezed Nick's hand which he'd grabbed on to. "I thought you said it wouldn't hurt?" He asked his doctor, making Nick laugh as he clammed his eyes shut.

"Come on Greggo, it can't be that bad."

Greg opened one eye and looked over to his friend. "Well how about I shove something up your penis and see how you like it?"

Nick only laughed harder and even Doctor Stalin let out a small chuckle. "Oh, you're the doctor." Greg said to her in a whiney voice. "You're not meant to laugh at your patients."

She laughed again. "I'm sorry, Greg. But you have to admit, this is a little funny."

Greg looked at her with raised eyebrows and couldn't help a small smile form on his face.

X

It was the next day and Greg had arrived back at Nick's place. Nick had to call the lab to explain why he and Greg wouldn't be there, but had assured Russell that they would both be in tomorrow.

"You want something to eat?" Nick asked as he got up off his sofa and headed towards the kitchen.

"No thanks. I think I'm gonna' try and go to the bathroom." Greg told him and took the brakes off his wheelchair.

Nick smiled slightly and nodded. "Alright, you want me to come with you?"

Greg shook his head. "I'll see if I can manage first."

"Alright." Nick told him and watched as he slowly pushed himself down the hall.

When Greg got inside the bathroom, Nick went in his kitchen and pulled another beer out of his fridge and then looked around his freezer. He pulled out some dinner and put it in the microwave. After a few minutes, he took it out and stirred it up, and then put it back in.

As he got it out a second time, he looked at the clock before putting it on a plate. Greg had been in the bathroom for a little while now, so he walked down his hall to where the bathroom was.

"Everything alright, G?" He asked as he leant on the wall near the bathroom door.

"Err, no… I, I can't get it in." Greg told him with a shy voice.

"Am I alright to come in?" Nick asked through the door, his hand hovering over the handle.

"Yeah." He opened the door and saw Greg sat by the toilet.

Nick walked to him and knelt down, "Let's have a look and see if I can do it." he said, as he gently began to put in the catheter.

"Ah."

"Sorry man, did that hurt?" Nick asked and stopped what he was doing.

Greg nodded with a grimace but waved his hand. "It's fine though, just carry on."

Nick did as he was told and soon after, a yellow stream of pee was going down the tube and into the toilet. "There we go, we did it." Nick said with a smile.

Greg smiled back. "Thanks."

"No problem. You want me to help take it out?"

"No. I should be able to do that bit." Greg told him and Nick smiled at him before getting up and leaving.

Greg watched him go and watched as he shut the door behind him. He still couldn't get over how lucky he was to have a friend like Nick; someone who would do everything for him and act so casual still. Before the incident, Greg could never have imagined Nick, his closest friend, helping to undress him, seeing everything he had or helping him into the shower.

But Nick seemed so unfased by it all. Greg smiled to himself, he was so happy to have Nick.

X

"Hey, how's your shift going?" Nick asked as he stopped by Greg's lab.

Greg looked up to him and smiled. "It's alright. How's your case working out?"

Nick sighed with a shake of his head. "It's not. We're still trying to find a solid piece of evidence."

"Hmm. Well, here are your results anyway." Greg said as he passed Nick a piece of paper from his printer.

Nick took them and looked at them. "Thanks, but these are no help at all."

Greg laughed slightly, knowing what it was like to be relying on some results that were inconclusive. "Hey, will you just nip me across to the diner? I have to use the bathroom." Greg asked him.

Nick looked at him. "Why don't you go to the ones here? Don't worry I'll go in with you."

Greg shook his head. "No, I'm not going in there."

"Come on, I promise you nothing will happen. I'll stand by the door, you can go in there on your own whilst I keep a look out." Nick tried to persuade him.

Again Greg shook his head. "Nick, I'm not going in there." He told him sternly.

"Nothing's gonna' happen man. It was a onetime thing, you're safe."

"Why can't you understand that I don't want to go in there?" Greg asked him with a raised voice.

Nick put his hands up. "I'm just saying that you'll have to go in there at some point, you can't keep running away."

Greg shook his head. "I'm not running away Nick, because I can't even fucking walk!" He shouted at him angrily before pushing himself out his lab and down towards the front doors, pulling his gloves off and dropping them on the floor as he went.

Some lab techs watched cautiously as he went and then looked up to where he came from when they heard Russell.

"What the hell is going on?"

X

Greg had managed to wheel himself outside and round to a corner of the lab where nobody could see him. He flexed his right hand and stared at it, lifting his left hand up to join it. They still shook. He sighed and looked up when somebody walked to sit on the wall next to him.

"Is it getting better?"

Greg looked across to Russell and nodded. "Yeah." He told him quietly. "It can seize up a bit though."

After a moments silence, Russell spoke. "So, I talked to Nick."

Greg looked to him and then down. "I know you're mad. And I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled."

"Why did you yell, Greg?" Russell asked him.

"Because…" Greg started, his voice cracking already as he looked down. "I'm in a wheelchair, I can't even write something down without it taking me forever. Because I can't drive a car. Because I need my best friend to help me get dressed, change out of my underwear… because I have to have my best friend help me in and out of the shower. Because I have to have my best friend shove something up inside of me just so that I can take a piss without knocking myself out..."

Greg stopped as he tried to calm his breathing and looked to Russell with tears in his eyes. "Do you know how humiliating that is?"

Russell didn't say anything just pulled Greg into him as he broke down into tears and cried all his anguish.

"I can't imagine how you must feel." Russell told him as Greg moved away from his chest.

"No you can't." Greg said wiping his eyes, spreading tears across his cheeks, letting more fall. "He wanted me to go to the bathroom here, in the lab. I can't do that." Greg told him in a high pitched voice. "I can't go in there. Not after what happened."

"I know, I understand that." Russell told him, rubbing his back.

"I just… I wanna' get on with this better. I do. I just can't. Everything… everything's just so hard, you know?" Greg asked him wiping more tears from his face.

Russell nodded and smiled sadly as Greg looked down. "I wish my mom was here. Or I wish my papa Olaf was here. Anybody… but I don't have anyone. Everybody's gone. I just need my family, I need to see them. I need my mom, is that too much to ask?"

"No it's not Greg. You're too young to be without your Mother." Russell told him.

"So why is she gone? What have I done? What have I done to deserve all this?" he asked as he cried once more.

"You haven't done anything to deserve this."

"Come on, let me take you home." Russell told him once he'd calmed down again.

But Greg shook his head. "I don't want to go home." He told him quietly.

Russell raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Okay, how about you stay in my office? Maybe you can kick back on the sofa and take a nap, have a bit of a rest."

Greg nodded and wiped his eyes and face by lifting the bottom of his t-shirt up, exposing his stomach. Russell pretended not to notice the nasty discoloration of his skin which still remained and slowly wheeled him back inside.

Once they were in Russell's office, he shut the door and went back over to Greg. "You want me to help you get onto the sofa?"

Greg shook his head and stayed quiet. He looked up when Russell's office door opened. "Hey boss- oh hey man, you alright?" Nick asked as he saw his friend's wet, red rimmed eyes.

Greg nodded and soon looked away. Nick looked up to Russell and gave him a questioning glance. "How's the case going?" He asked him so that they weren't in silence.

"It's slow. We really need that warrant if we're going to get anywhere." Nick told him and spun around when there was a crash outside Russell's office.

One of the lab techs had ran into a trolley full of metal instruments and glass containers. Only a few had broken but everybody had stopped what they were doing to look what had happened. "Hey! Clean that up now!" Russell shouted through his office to her and she nodded quickly.

Nick shut the door with a shake of his head and eyebrows raised.

"Oh shit."

Nick and Russell turned back to Greg who had just sworn under his breath and was raking his hand through his hair as more tears built up.

"What's up man?" Nick asked walking over to him, just like D.B.

Greg looked to them both and took in a deep breath, "It's happened again…I've done it again." He cried and looked down.

Nick and Russell looked confused until Nick saw the darker patch on his crotch. "He's wet himself." He told Russell quietly.

"Hey, it's no big deal, buddy." Russell told him as he grabbed a hold of his hand. "Don't worry about it."

Greg let out a sob and couldn't help but cry hysterically. "Come here…" Russell pulled him into a hug again and let the young man sob into his chest.

"Don't worry about it, G." Nick told him as he knelt down in front of him and put his hand on Greg's knee.

It was heart breaking for both of them to see their colleague and friend so distraught. It seemed as though today couldn't get any worse for the poor guy. As if he didn't have enough to worry about already.

It was five minutes after that Greg was finally calmed down enough to break away from Russell. "You alright, bud?" Russell asked him with a small smile.

Greg shook his head and tilted his head back to look up at the ceiling.

"How about I take you home and we sort you out and get you into bed?" Nick asked him softly.

"No, I don't want to go home. I'm fed up of being carried around everywhere all the time." Greg told them in a quiet, sad voice. "I just want to stay here."

Russell and Nick shared a look. "Alright, that's cool. I'll go home, get you some fresh clothes and then we'll sort you out here and you can kip on Russell's couch." Nick told him.

"Yeah, does that sound like a plan?" Russell asked him.

Greg didn't say anything like Russell had hoped, only nodded.

X

Nick and Russell had helped change Greg, who was now lying on D.B's sofa in his office with a blanket draped over him.

"Hey, are you gonna' be alright while I go and talk to a suspect?" Russell asked him quietly.

Greg opened his eyes tiredly and nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He told him in a soft voice.

Russell nodded. "Alright, I won't be long. If you need me, don't hesitate to call, okay?"

Greg nodded and watched with dead eyes as he left the room, shutting the door softly. He felt… nothing. He lay there emotionless, the day's events taking their toll on him.

He had just about managed to drift off to sleep when someone came through the office door. "Hey I have-" Morgan stopped mid sentence when she realized Russell wasn't in there and that Greg was watching her.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't realise you were in here." She apologised.

Greg didn't say anything; he didn't even acknowledge her presence. "Are you okay?" She asked as she stepped forward and leant down next to the sofa.

He didn't say anything, just looked at her with sad eyes. "What's wrong? Has something happened?" She asked him worriedly.

"I'm fine." Greg said to her in a monotone voice and Morgan knew that those two words were code for 'leave me alone, I don't want to talk'.

She stood up and smiled at him. "Okay, I'll see you later." She said as she left the office, giving him one last smile.

X

"Is he always like this?" Russell asked Nick quietly as they watched Greg struggle lightly in his sleep.

Nick nodded and looked over. "Yeah. He has nightmares all the time. Sometimes he wakes up, sometimes he doesn't. I don't know which is better."

"What does he dream about?" Russell asked him, watching intently as Greg frowned and his nostrils flared in his sleep.

"I don't know. He doesn't tell me, and I don't push him, you know?"

"Good, he doesn't need to be pushed to do anything at the moment." Russell commented.

Nick nodded. "You know, once he woke up from one and I was calming him down, and he asked me to stay with him. He was hysterical, I don't even think he knew what he was saying, but he asked me if I'd get in bed with him, so that he knew I was there. He wouldn't calm down until I lay next to him. I got up before him the next morning and went back to my own room. When he woke up, he didn't even remember it."

"How often does he have nightmares?" Russell asked him.

"Every night. Without fail. He's not getting enough sleep, man." Nick told Russell tearing up.

"Hey, come on. You've got to be strong." Russell told him as he lightly punched him on the arm.

"I know." Nick said wiping the corner of his eyes. "But it breaks my heart to see him like that. Like this. He's like a brother to me."

Russell nodded, knowing exactly how Nick felt. "I know. And we'll help him. He's just had a rough day, everything's got on top of him and he had to let it out."

Nick just mumbled in response and looked at Greg.

It was more than just a rough day.

X

**Wow! Pretty big chapter for me :D Hope you enjoyed this and have time to leave a little review! x **


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